Lionel Messi was the star attraction as the 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) season got underway at Fort Lauderdale in Florida on Thursday.
The Argentine superstar, who won the 2023 Ballon d’Or recently, set up one goal and had a hand in another as Inter Miami defeated Real Salt Lake 2-0.
Fans though were quick to point out Messi’s sublime skill when he dinked a ball, while dribling past players, over a fallen defender who was seemed in pain due an injury.
The video quickly went viral on social media.
WATCH:
Messi really chipped a player who was down injured pic.twitter.com/BN3fpsDjxy— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 22, 2024
As for the game itslef, Inter Miami dominated the first half and broke through in the 39th minute when Messi split the defence to find Robert Taylor, whose low shot looked like it had been saved by Zac MacMath before it spun out of his arms and into the net.
Salt Lake, who had been tentative in the first half, came out energised after the break and began to turn up the heat on a Miami side which spent the off-season playing matches in Asia and the Middle East.
Miami survived the onslaught with the help of some clutch saves from goalkeeper Drake Callender and sealed the win when Messi combined with former Barcelona team mate Luis Suarez to set up Diego Gomez to make it 2-0 in the 83rd minute.
That goal led to fireworks being shot off at the newly-named Chase Stadium as the 29th MLS season kicked off with a win for Messi’s side.
“I knew I was going to face tough competition (in MLS),” Luis Suarez said through an interpreter after his first game in the league.
“And Inter Miami, being one of the favourites for the title, we knew we were going to play always against full force.”
Messi had 11 goals in 14 total matches with Inter Miami last season, leading the team to a Leagues Cup championship — its first-ever trophy — shortly after he stunned much of the soccer world by signing a 2 1/2-year contract worth around 150 million USD . He appeared in only six MLS matches in 2023, scoring once. Injuries slowed him late in the 2023 season and Inter Miami, which was way out of the postseason picture when Messi joined last summer, didn’t make the MLS playoffs.
Miami will now travel to face Beckham’s former team LA Galaxy on Sunday in Carson, California.
(With puts from Agencies)
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