Those who came to see Lionel Messi’s brilliance finally were rewarded for their patience.
In a development that didn’t make many New York-area soccer fans happy — especially those who plunked down exorbitant sums to see the international superstar play — Messi was not in the starting XI for Inter Miami in its ballyhooed road match Saturday night in Harrison, N.J.
With the boisterous sellout crowd chanting “We want Messi” throughout the first half and the start of the second, those calls finally were answered as the Argentine legend came on to tremendous cheers in the 60th minute and buried a late goal in his new team’s ninth straight victory since his arrival last month, 2-0, at Red Bull Arena.
Messi drew a massive reaction when he rose to loosen up with Miami’s other reserves early in the second half, and the loudest “Messi” chant of the night followed as he made his way to midfield to sub in for Leonardo Campana.
Messi didn’t immediately affect the match, only touching the ball a handful of times initially, but he converted a feed in front from teammate Benjamin Cremaschi in the 89th minute for his 11th goal in nine appearance since transferring to David Beckham’s club from Paris Saint-Germain in July,
In what was hyped as the 36-year-old Messi’s MLS regular-season debut and first appearance in the local area, it was announced shortly before kickoff that he would open the game on the bench after logging 120 minutes in Wednesday’s victory over Cincinnati FC in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.
That match represented Miami’s eighth straight victory in tournament and cup play, including a Leagues Cup trophy, with the wondrous forward also posting three assists that included two key setups in Cincinnati.
That workload caused manager Tata Martino to suggest that night and again on Friday that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, as the best player in the world, might be rested altogether on Saturday night as MLS play resumed. Fellow import Sergio Busquets also was held out of the starting lineup before coming on alongside Messi in the 60th minute.
Diego Gomez also scored for Miami, which improved to 6-14-3 in regular-season action to move out of last place in the Eastern Conference. They are now 11 points out of the ninth and final playoff position with 11 games to play.
With seven games in 23 days, including three that were decided in PKs, Martino had said Wednesday night that Messi and other players “are reaching a physical limit” that might necessitate what is known in the NBA as load management. Martino also insisted he wouldn’t be swayed by public or league pressure in his decision.
“I understand the expectations the rest of the world has to watch him, that is undeniable,” Martino told reporters Friday at the team hotel in Hoboken. “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.”
The former Barcelona and Mexican national coach also noted that Messi still is likely to miss games to play internationally with Argentina, the 2022 World Cup champions, next month. Inter Miami also is slated to vie for another trophy in the U.S. Open Cup finals against the Houston Dynamo on Sept. 27.
Saturday’s match was streamed on Apple TV+ and even was shown on a large screen in Times Square. Tickets had been selling on the secondary market for hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars.
Several loud chants of “We Want Messi” broke out in the opening minutes of the match and throughout the first half.
Inter Miami struck first when Gomez slipped a left-footed shot from 12 yards out past Red Bulls goalie Carlos Coronel in the 37th minute, a lead they carried into halftime.
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