Inter Miami started their quest for the Major League Soccer playoffs with a 2-0 victory at New York Red Bulls on Saturday. Lionel Messi scored after coming off the bench.
Messi was benched by coach Gerard “Tata” Martino after a week in which Miami won the Leagues Cup and advanced to the US Open Cup final. Messi entered the game at the hour mark.
After entering with his old Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, the Argentine World Cup winner had little impact, but he made his mark on his regular-season debut with a goal in the 89th minute.
Messi received a deft pass from Benjamin Cremaschi, whose low first-time cross was tapped in by the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, after Jordi Alba acrobatically hooked the ball into the box to Messi. Messi then pivoted and twisted before slipping the magnificent pass.
Since joining Inter Miami, Messi has scored 11 goals in nine games across all competitions.
“He’s unbelievable, every day it’s something new, on and off the field,” said Miami’s 19-year-old defender Noah Allen.
“He’s an amazing person to play with and I am so blessed to play with him.”
To the dismay of the packed house at Red Bull Arena, Martino held to his word with his team selection after indicating that several of his players needed a vacation after a demanding stretch of eight games in a month.
a substitute Diego Gomez of Paraguay was afforded time to turn and then slot in a left-footed attempt in the 37th minute after Noah Allen put in a cross from the left.
Miami’s goalkeeper Drake Callender had to make several saves to maintain his team’s advantage, but as Red Bull pressure grew, Martino made the decision to insert his star player, and the game’s momentum unavoidably changed.
The win lifts Miami off the bottom of the Eastern Conference and reduces the gap to the last playoff sport to 11 points with 11 games remaining.
