Lionel Messi’s debut for Inter Miami ended the only way it possibly could, with Messi providing a moment of magic that only he could create. After coming on in the second half of the club’s Leagues Cup game against Mexican side Cruz Azul, Messi was nothing short of magnetic, with the crowd at DRV PNK Stadium cheering any time he got on the ball.
Cruz Azul’s players struggled to take the ball off of him — which, in fairness, happens to just about everyone who has to try and take the ball off of Messi — and with the game tied up at 1-1 in injury time, a crunching tackle on Messi gave him a free kick just at the top of the box. There was no doubt that he would take it, he got it up over the wall, and there was absolutely nothing that Cruz Azul goalkeeper Andres Gudino could do, as Messi placed the ball perfectly into the top corner.
LIONEL ANDRÉS MESSI IS NOT HUMAN. pic.twitter.com/2mBDI41mLy
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 22, 2023
Messi has a penchant for doing this sort of thing, as he’s shown time and time again in his professional career that his sense of the moment is unparalleled in the sport. Now, he’s doing it in the United States, and as a result, Miami was able to pick up a 2-1 win.
