In his first appearance for Inter Miami, Lionel Messi introduced himself to the Americans with a beautiful free-kick goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time to win over Cruz Azul 2-1. Just a few days later, in the second round of the CONCACAF League Cup against Atlanta, the amazing Argentine scored twice and assisted once in a 4-0 (3-0) victory, worthy of placing in the sixteenth round of the competition between the American and Mexican premier leagues members.Just eight minutes into the first match as a starter for his new club, Messi needed to checkmate former Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan and give Inter the lead. He scored on Sergio Busquets’ masterful pass over the opponent’s defence. Just like they used to do in Barcelona.Messi’s intent to turn the team from Florida into the kind of machinery he had in the Catalan giant showed again about fifteen minutes after the first goal, when he scored again. This time on a pass from Robert Taylor, to whom he responded with an assist at the beginning of the second half, while the Finn had previously made it 3-0 with a brilliant shot from the left side in the 44th minute.##NAJAVA_MECA_7390888##Until the arrival of Leo Messi, the team from Florida had one win in the last ten games. With the world champion in their ranks, the Herons are “two out of two.”With a banger free kick, the masterful Gaucho introduced himself to his new audience, and already in the next match he showed that he did not come to America to relax. By the way, with three goals in the first two matches, Messi highlighted his serious candidacy to take over the record from compatriot Gonzalo Higuain for the number of goals for a club whose owners include David Beckham. The former Serie A goalscorer scored 29 times as a player for Inter Miami. He did it in 70 appearances. It took Messi less than 90 minutes to checkmate the opposing goalkeepers three times, and it should be mentioned that he was substituted in the 78th minute against Atlanta.Neither his and Busquets’ exit from the game, nor the red card for Inter Miami, not even a penalty given, were enough for the visiting team to score even a consolation goal.Busquets 🤝 MessiMessi puts us in the lead early with his second goal for the Club 👏👏#MIAvATL | 1-0 | 📺#MLSSeasonPass on @AppleTV: https://t.co/JZtEpe9Hfa pic.twitter.com/GKujBMsW1V— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 25, 2023 Taylor ➡️ Messi for his second of the night to double the lead in the 22nd minute 👏#MIAvATL | 2-0 pic.twitter.com/bVvzkLJdDA— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 26, 2023 Taylor bags a brace 2️⃣Messi sets up Taylor for our FOURTH of the night 👏#MIAvATL | 4-0 pic.twitter.com/ssG8CyqXWu— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 26, 2023 The goals he scored last night have a special value for Lionel Messi’s career, because he scored them against the 100th club since he played in senior football. This means he was a scorer against an incredible hundred different clubs, not national teams. You could jokingly say that Messi didn’t score only against those he didn’t play against…Leaving Paris Saint-Germain and coming to the USA, where the pressure on football players is significantly less, even if it was a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, is clearly pleasing to him. The next ones who could feel on their skin what it’s like when Leo Messi plays are the Charlotte football players. This time it is an MLS match, in which Inter Miami is in last place with 18 points from 22 matches. It seems that it’s time for a move upward… However, there will be almost a month of break, which will be used for additional training of former Barca aces – Messi, Busquets and Alba – with the rest of the team.That match is scheduled for August 21 at 02.30 EAT and will be played in Florida.ROBERT TAYLOR BANGER 🚨Cremaschi with the flick on to Taylor to give us a three goal lead in the 44th minute🤯#MIAvATL | 3-0 pic.twitter.com/8T4ttw5vaY— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 26, 2023 HE’S OUR KEEPER 🗣️🧤🧤🧤 pic.twitter.com/VkrRs9Sx2S— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 26, 2023
