Inter Miami skipper Lionel Messi led by example once again in the Leagues Cup, helping his side to a nail-biting shootout win over FC Dallas in Sunday’s (August 6) round of 16 clash.
Lionel Messi extends his goalscoring run
The Herons, who secured round-of-16 qualification by beating Orlando City on Wednesday (August 3), got off to a dream start at Toyota Stadium. The effervescent Messi took only six minutes to break the deadlock, courtesy of an inch-perfect cutback from Jordi Alba. The Spaniard spotted Messi’s run down the inside-left channel and set him up on the edge of the D. The Argentine icon hit it first time to beat Dallas stopper Maarten Paes, extending his scoring run to four games.
The hosts remained composed despite going behind so early in the game, and eventually found their way back in the 37th minute, with Facundo Tomas Quignon popping up with the equalizer. Just before the half-time whistle, Bernard Kamungo doubled Dallas’ money, slotting it home from the right side of the six-yard box.
Inter Miami further succumbed to Dallas’ pressure in the second half, conceding another goal in the 63rd minute. Alan Velasco whipped in a free-kick from the left flank, which successfully deceived the Miami defenders and ended up in the net.
Tata Martino’s side responded quickly through Benjamin Cremaschi’s goal in the 65th minute, but an unfortunate Robert Taylor own goal restored FC Dallas’ two-goal cushion just three minutes later.
Messi comes to Inter Miami’s rescue
In the 80th minute, Marco Farfan’s own goal gave Miami a lifeline. But with the clock ticking down, the visitors needed something special to get back into the contest. With five minutes left to play, seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi answered his fans’ prayers by scoring the equalizer in sensational fashion.
Standing over a free-kick on the right side, Messi went for a curler, which successfully evaded the keeper and nestled into the top-right corner of the goal. It was the 36-year-old’s second free-kick goal in four games, with his first, which was also a crucial equalizer, coming in his debut against Cruz Azul. With the score level at 4-4, the game went straight into penalties after the end of injury time.
HE DID IT AGAIN. 🤯
LEO MESSI. FREE KICK. EQUALIZER. 4-4. pic.twitter.com/Yh1TXFDENH
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 7, 2023
Miami skipper Messi set the tone with a perfectly-taken spot kick, finding the bottom right corner with ease. Sergio Busquets, Leonardo Campana, Kamal Miller, and Benjamin Cremaschi all put away their efforts to take the visiting side to a 5-3 shootout victory.
Messi was not only sensational in front of goal on Sunday, but he also served as Inter Miami’s creator-in-chief. He completed 40 passes (89% accuracy), created four chances, completed four dribbles, and played 11 passes into the final third. Having scored seven goals in four matches for his new employers, Messi will look to extend his purple patch when Inter Miami take on the winners of the Houston Dynamo FC-Charlotte FC clash in the Leagues Cup quarter-finals on August 11.
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