Four days ago, Messi came on from the bench and scored to help Inter Miami beat Cruz Azul 2-1 in the Leagues Cup. On the morning of July 26, the Argentine star had his first start for the new team in the match against Atlanta United.
Atlanta was unexpectedly the team that pressed the field more in the first half and once put the ball in the net of Inter Miami but was flagged for offside. The highlight of the match only came after the brilliant moments of Lionel Messi.
In the 8th minute, Messi broke the offside trap and went down to receive a pass from Busquets. Facing Atlanta’s goalkeeper, El Pulga shot the ball to the post but he promptly rushed into the correct kick, opening the score 1-0 for Inter Miami.
Inter Miami constantly pressed the pitch and in the 22nd minute, Messi coordinated with Taylor before cushioning the ball in the penalty area to make it 2-0. The Argentine star scored twice in this match and this was his third goal for the American team.
At the end of the first half, Messi continued to provide an assist for Taylor to raise the score to 3-0. Entering the second half, Inter Miami continued to increase attack power and Taylor brought the gap to 4-0, the assist was still Messi.
In the 78th minute, Messi left the field to rest in the applause of the fans in the stands. Two minutes later, Inter Miami was awarded a penalty when McVey fouled the opponent in the box and received a red card.
However, Atlanta midfielder Thiago Almada was unable to beat goalkeeper Callender on the penalty spot. Inter Miami won 4-0 overall and Messi’s team won the right to the round of 16 of the 2023 Leagues Cup.
Video:
Squad
Inter Miami : Callender, Yedlin, Miller, Kryvtsov (McVey 72′), Allen, Arroyo, Sergio Busquets (Ulloa 72′), Cremaschi (Ochoa 73′), Lionel Messi (Robinson 78′), Martinez, Taylor (Campana 82′)
Goals: Messi (8′, 22′), Taylor (44′, 54′)
Atlanta United : Guzan, Robinson, Sanchez (Hernandez 46′), Abram, Lennon, Sosa, Rossetto (Alonso 65′), Wiley (Etienne 80′), Giakoumakis (Berry 65′), Almada, Wolff (Palacios 46′)
