Watch Newcastle United striker Salomon Rondon's excellent finish as Venezuela defeat Lionel Messi's Argentina

Lionel Messi's return to the Argentina national team ended in defeat - with Newcastle striker Salomon Rondon playing a key part in Venezuela's 3-1 win over La Albiceleste.
Newcastle's Salomon Rondon celebrates his goal against Argentina in Madrid.Newcastle's Salomon Rondon celebrates his goal against Argentina in Madrid.
Newcastle's Salomon Rondon celebrates his goal against Argentina in Madrid.

Rondon opened the scoring in the sixth minute with an excellent finish over Argentine goalkeeper Franco Armani.

The game in Madrid was only a friendly but was Messi's first game for his country since the 2018 World Cup defeat by France.

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Jhon Murillo doubled Venezuela's lead before half-time before Lautaro Martinez pulled a goal back for Argentina.

Yet Josef Martinez put the game beyond doubt 15 minutes from time, scoring Venezuela's third from the penalty spot.

Elsewhere, Rondon's South American team-mate Miguel Almiron played 90 minutes for Paraguay as his country lost 1-0 to Peru in a friendly.

Three other Newcastle players have also been in action this week, with Paul Dummett, Martin Dubravka and DeAndre Yedlin all representing their countries.

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Dummett played 61 minutes in Wales' 1-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday, while Dubravka kept a clean sheet as Slovakia defeated Hungry 2-0 in their Euro 2020 qualifier.

Meanwhile, Yedlin came on for the final 22 minutes as the USA edged past Ecuador 1-0 in a friendly.

Christian Atsu and Fabian Schar could also feature for Ghana and Switzerland respectively.