Messi’s debut match with the Inter Miami club against rival Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup at the DRV PNK was packed with spectators. Among them are many famous figures from the American sports and entertainment industry such as LeBron James, Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams…
Messi and his teammate Sergio Busquets were benched by coach Tata Martino, because both had just returned to training after the summer holidays. But with the great influence of these two recently arrived top stars, the players of the Inter Miami club played with great effort against their rival Cruz Azul of Liga MX (Mexico).
At the end of the first half, midfielder Robert Taylor opened the score 1-0 for Inter Miami after a beautiful cross shot. At the beginning of the second half, coach Tata Martino, in turn, threw Messi and Busquets onto the field to the excitement of the fans in the DRV PNK field.
Almost immediately, Messi made his mark with beautiful assists to give his new teammates a chance to score. However, Inter Miami’s defense made too many mistakes for Cruz Azul to have a chance to tie it at 1-1 in the 65th minute scored by Uriel Antuna.
Messi’s debut then occurred in the proximity of the two teams. Earlier in injury time, Messi’s class spoke. Minutes 90+4, Inter Miami received a free kick outside the 16m50 round, Messi as usual took a free kick and shot with his magical left foot to put the ball in the far corner to knock down the goalkeeper Cruz Azul, helping Inter Miami to win 2-1.
This is also Inter Miami’s first victory after a recent series of 11 games without a win (8 losses, 3 draws). In the next match, Messi and Busquets are likely to start from the beginning when Inter Miami faces Atlanta United on the morning of July 26 (Vietnam time) also in the Leagues Cup.
