Leo Messi debuted in the second half and led the victory of between miami 1-2 against him Blue Cross this Friday with a wonderful goal from a direct free kick, a home brand, in the 94th minute. It was the dream premiere for the Argentine, surrounded by his new fans, surrounded by celebrities and reminded that despite the inactivity he continues to be a completely different player.
With him, his teammate and friend Sergio Busquets also made his debut in Miami, the only one who knows how to find him with guarantees on the pitch. For this first day of the Leagues Cup, the new tournament in which all MLS and Liga MX teams compete, coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino decided that neither Messi nor ‘Busi’ was out of the game, and Inter Miami, until the Argentine’s impressive last flash, suffered from the same problems it had already shown in the rest of the season: a worrying central defense in the field.
Argentine Carlos Rotondi was the first to put the Inter Miami defense on alert with an attack from the left for a center that saw no response. He’s not the only one. The Florida team’s midfield left a lot of space that the Mexicans knew how to take advantage of to reach the area with some clarity. In fact, Drake Callender had to show off several times in the first five minutes with Brazilian Moisés Vieira the most obvious.
Ecuadorian Leonardo Campana gave the first warning for those in pink and Mexican Andrés Gudiño rose between the sticks, but this time it did not mean a change of direction in the match as, just seconds later, Rotondi crashed the ball against the post and Colombian Diber Cambindo narrowly missed the rebound.
In the 24th minute, Ian Fray’s left knee, apparently, twisted and led to gestures of great pain from the Jamaican, forcing him to leave the match. After the final victory, Messi, in remarks at the foot of the field, dedicated the victory to his presumably seriously injured teammate. Even another right-back, Cruz Azul’s, Rodrigo Huescas who also injured himself and was replaced by Paraguayan Juan Escobar.
These breaks benefited Inter Miami, who in the latter part of the first half managed to control the game to a certain extent, combined better and thus the goal came from Finn Robert Taylor in the 44th minute, with a wonderful overflow from the left wing to shoot at the far post with his right foot and score despite Gudiño’s immense stretch.
With Leo and Sergio, another story
Messi’s worried face on the bench changed to the goal, celebrating it with the rest of his substitute teammates. Without taking the reins of the game, his team paved the way for his debut in the pink shirt.
Messi and Busquets entered the field of play in the 53rd minute and it did not take long for them to awaken the first spirit of the stands with a great play that brought the Argentine joined by his teammates on the line at the end.
The game is different in terms of atmosphere and football. The crowd remained standing for several minutes and Messi took the lead, starting wearing the captain’s armband from his first minute on the pitch.
A dropped ball by Messi set up Venezuelan Josef Martínez in the area, who also entered the exchange with two former Barça players. The forward dropped the red wine against the goalkeeper.
Colombian Kevin Castaño came on in an interesting tactical move by Cruz Azul and the result was immediate, with an equalizer for the Mexicans in the 64th minute. Uriel Antuna received the ball inside the area and, with a quick turn and cross shot, beat Callender before the sight and passivity of the local defence.
Inter Miami continued to play at the pace set by Messi, again with a ball served deep to Martínez, which he could not identify. Ten also looked for a shot from outside the area, but hit the back of Mexican Carlos Salcedo. The Cement Machine gained confidence and began to attack more and better, bringing Inter Miami back to the ghosts of the first half.
Messi’s associations are very different if he does it with Busquets or with another teammate. The La Masia connection had a clear chance when the midfielder gave him a high ball and the Argentine fell and claimed a penalty, but it was not awarded. In 85 Messi had it again, again with a gift from Busquets alone. Mexican Rafa Guerrero took the ball from him as he was about to shoot at goal.
Messi and Martínez combined and had two great plays, one of which even went into the goal, but both were ruled out for offside.
In extra time, the Argentine star received the ball on the edge of the area and was clearly knocked down. He had a golden opportunity to shine from set pieces and that was it, with excellent execution from Rosario’s genius gliding throughout the squad. His first goal at Inter Miami was epic and delivered victory to his club at the buzzer.
Messi celebrated in style in front of a stadium that screamed and celebrated, with a bench jumping onto the pitch to join his new idol and later melting into a hug with his family, who were present in the front row next to the bench.
No one wants to miss Messi’s debut at Inter Miami, and thus athletes like LeBron James, Tom Brady or Serena Williams and celebrities and artists like Becky G, Kim Kardashian or Marc Anthony will be seen.
DATA SHEET
1 – Blue Cross: Gudino; Huescas (Escobar, m.30), Guerrero, Salcedo, Rivero; Dueñas, Rodríguez (Tabó, m.78); Antuna, Moisés (Lotti, m.78), Rotondi; Cambindo (Chestnut, m.64)
2 – Inter Miami: Callenderi; Fray (Allen, m.30), Kryvtsov, Miller, Yedlin; Ruiz (Busquets, m.53), Arroyo, Cremaschi (Messi, m.53); Taylor, Bell (Bell, m.53) and Robinson
The objectives: 0-1, Robert Taylor (d. 44); 2-0, Uriel Antuna (m. 65); 1-2, Leo Messi (d. 94)
Referee: Hector Martinez (El Salvador). He advised Dixon Arroyo (m.38) and Dueñas (m.92)
Incidents: First day of the Leagues Cup. Played at the DRV PNK Stadium in front of 20,000 spectators
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
