’11 goals, 5 assists in 11 matches’ – Lionel Messi shines, Inter Miami defeats defending MLS champion 3-1 for the first time
Lionel Messi shines with a brace of assists, Inter Miami won convincingly 3-1 LAFC on the field of the reigning MLS champion.
Inter Miami won 3-1 against LAFC. (Photo: Reuters)
LAFC’s visit is considered a measure of Inter Miami’s bravery, when Lionel Messi and his teammates face the reigning champion of the American professional football league (MLS).
With the cheers of the home crowd, LAFC entered the game with enthusiasm. However, Inter Miami opened the score in the 14th minute after a somewhat lucky situation.
Facundo Farias lost his balance when chasing Tomas Aviles’s pass but still tried to finish from a seemingly harmless angle. However, the ball suddenly went out of goalkeeper John McCarthy’s reach and into the LAFC net.
After the goal, LAFC continuously put pressure on the Inter Miami defense and created quite clear opportunities. Unfortunately, Carlos Vela and his teammates appeared unlucky in front of the away team’s goal.
Messi shines with a brace of assists in the confrontation with the reigning MLS champion. (Photo: Reuters)
In a tense match, Lionel Messi always makes a difference every time he touches the ball. The Argentine superstar almost doubled the gap for Inter Miami in the 38th minute, when he coordinated beautifully with Diego Gomez to escape the siege of 8 LAFC players but could not beat goalkeeper John McCarthy in the face-off.
In the second half, Lionel Messi’s class helped Inter Miami score 2 more goals to sink LAFC. The Argentine superstar scored a double assisting Jordi Alba and Leonardo Campana.
In the 51st minute, Lionel Messi calmly kept the ball and observed, then threw a pass for Jordi Alba to escape and double the gap. In the 83rd minute, Lionel Messi punished the LAFC defense’s mistake and then set the table for Leonardo Campana to score from close range, increasing the score to 3-0.
LAFC’s efforts in this match only brought an honorable goal in the 90th minute. Ryan Hollingshead headed the ball into Inter Miami’s net after Carlos Vela’s corner kick.
In the end, Inter Miami won 3-1 against LAFC. However, the poor performance of the pink shirt team before recruiting Lionel Messi made them only penultimate in the eastern MLS rankings with 25 points. Meanwhile, LAFC ranked 3rd on the MLS western rankings with 40 points.
