Messi MLS Debut: Messi Mania is on next level in US and it was crazy when he made his debut in Major League Soccer. Lionel Messi got a grand welcome in the ground and got a tremendous support off the ground from the fans across New York. Fans were cheering Messi at iconic Times Square. It feels like Messi has given a new life to US football and the magic got doubled when Inter Miami won their first game in MLS and Messi scored the goal in 89th minute.
The 7-time Ballon d’Or winner made a stunning summer move to Inter Miami and transformed his club in his first few weeks. Football fans came in large numbers in almost all Inter Miami games. However, the Saturday night was full of Football fans in market and stadium.
Lionel Messi’s debut game started with a twist and once, it gave a shock to football fans when he didn’t start for Inter Miami against the Red Bulls in Harrison, N.J. His availability was uncertain when the game started. It was supposed to be a first game in MLS since his arrival to Miami. The Argentine was left on the bench as he was part of whole 120 minutes game on Wednesday against Cincinnati FC in the US Open Cup semifinals.
Messi played a big role in the revolution at Inter Miami. The former Barcelona forward helped his club to win eight games since his arrival. Before making the debut at MLS on Saturday, he scored 10 goals and provided three assists. The 36-year-old helped his side to win the Leagues Cup title and Miami also reached into the final of US Open Cup.
Ahead of Messi’s debut game, manager Tata Martino hinted that the Argentine might need a rest on Saturday due to heavy workload. He said, “I understand the expectations the rest of the world has to watch him, that is undeniable.
He also added, “But I cannot act based on that because if I do I would risk doing things wrong. The only thing I am concerned about is if he is able to play. Throughout his career, he has always wanted to play every game and sometimes you have to convince him to stop so he can recover, but I don’t pay attention to external pressures when it comes to deciding if he should play or not.”
However, Messi didn’t disappoint his fans and geared up for his MLS debut on Saturday. The match was even shown on a big screen in Times Square. Match tickets were sold for huge amounts on the secondary market. It shows the fan following of the biggest star of this game.
The former PSG forward came off the bench to score for Inter Miami and ended his club’s 11-match league winless streak. Inter Miami completed a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls. The Argentine picked out Cremaschi with a back-post feed before easily finishing the give-and-go sequence. The World Cup winner now has 11 goals and six assists in nine matches across various competitions for Inter Miami.
Meanwhile, manager Martino also noted that Lionel Messi will also miss few games for Argentina next month. “It is inevitable that we will not have him at some point, Martino said. “This will happen at least three times this year, and next year more.
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