It was fiery, it was fractious, it descended into utter bedlam, simply a World Cup knockout tie for the ages. Argentina went to hell and back, collapsing deep into second-half stoppage time to squander a two-goal lead after Louis van Gaal’s substitutions combined to wreak havoc. But after a fraught period of extra time Argentina came out on top of a ludicrous bout, with Lautaro Martínez scoring the decisive spot-kick in a penalty shootout victory. Lionel Messi’s magical assist and penalty for his 10th World Cup goal, to equal Gabriel Batistuta’s record, finished as footnotes.
