Lionel Messi's night with Inter Miami: the goal he was gifted and the exquisite free kick that brings him closer to a Brazilian record.
Inter Miami is making up for Major League Soccer matches it postponed due to its experience in the Club World Cup , which concludes this Sunday in North America with the final between Chelsea and PSG. This Saturday, it was their turn to host Nashville in a match of great significance for Lionel Messi and company. The Argentine star certainly understood, scoring a brace.
He looked fired up during the matches of FIFA's new competition, to the point of causing a surprise by placing his weak team (which he even admitted, in one of his statements) among the best 16 teams in the World Cup, until PSG and their beastly model appeared. The fact is that he remains in that vein , motivated, eager for action, which is always welcome news in our country.
It puts to rest the speculation surrounding the number 10's physical condition and, consequently, further strengthens his desire to compete in the next World Cup for national teams, less than a year away, where Argentina will defend the crown won in Qatar.
If Messi is inspired, he needs nothing more than those individual maneuvers that only he can pull off (even today, at 38 years old), or just a glance at the pitch to have a clear view of his next move, looking for his most damaging stab. However, the North American league, still semi-amateur in its nature, always opens the door to a surprise , as happened with Messi's second goal. If they make it easy for him...
The second half, which the visitors had tied at the start, was about to end in the 17th minute when Colombian Jeison Palacios just made a fine save from a ball that was about to be won by the Rosario native in the middle of the pitch, with speed and space: a real danger. The defender risked passing it to his goalkeeper Joe Willis with a very high pass and a direct descent into the penalty area, which required the number 1 to chest down. So far, so good. Not even the slight pressure from Messi, who never stopped running, invited a mistake, but it happened.
Lionel saw his intention to feint with his body and then pass it back to the Colombian center back, capturing the ball with no defenders in front of him. He slid past Willis with a hook to his right and then took his time—keeping the ball close to his left—until he finished against defender Jack Maher , who was the only resistance, but he couldn't stop the Inter captain's calm finish.
It ended up being the winning goal, an important one because the three points put the Miami club within three points of their rivals of the night (they are third, with 41) and five behind the leader Philadelphia Union (43) . With an added bonus: due to the Club World Cup, the team managed by Javier Mascherano has three fewer games , so the excitement is great. Of course, despite finishing in first place, the playoffs then determine the champion, but finishing as high as possible is an added incentive. On an individual level, with respect to Messi, and as a group.
Above all, because of the positive streaks they're on in the league. The world champion scored 11 goals in his team's last six MLS matches. And as for the team itself, the Argentine was instrumental in securing their fifth straight win, while also scoring his fifth consecutive brace . A great moment.
On the first goal of his big night, nothing helped him but his usual gift for converting from a free kick. His unpredictability. His left foot. His ingenuity, always expected by the whole world, but never knowing in advance how he would use to display it . Sixteen minutes into the first half, he had a free kick available near the edge of the box. A set piece ideal for a left-footer, it begged for an angle, as it was blocked in front of Willis's left post.
But of course, he's not just any left-footed player . And his idea was different. He decided, as so many times before, to aim for the post guarded by the goalkeeper, but with a low shot. The result was ideal: the ball traveled quickly and traveled along the right side of the goal . The goalkeeper saw it late, but still made an effort with his stretch. In vain, because it was impossible to deflect it.
Lionel Messi also scored his 69th career free-kick goal tonight . The all-time record holder for goals from this route is Brazilian Juninho Pernambucano, who scored a total of 77. That means only nine successful free kicks separate him from a new record. And the 38-year-old appears to have plenty of ammunition left to burn .
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