Cristiano Ronaldo probably woke up grumpy this morning. Overnight, Lionel Messi made a sensational debut with Inter Miami. Substitute at kick-off, the Argentinian scored the winning goal with an unstoppable free kick in added time in the Leagues Cup, against Mexican formation Cruz Azul (2-1).
The Argentine star exulted when Robert Taylor opened the scoring for the locals with a deflected shot into the goal by the post, just before the break (44th). It was later, in the 54th minute, that the former Paris Saint-Germain player put on his pink jersey to enter the game to the ovation of the public. Sergio Busquets took advantage of the same stoppage of play to also make his debut with Miami.
Already wearing the captain’s armband, Messi watched helplessly as Cruz Azul returned, thanks to Uriel Antuna’s goal (65th). La Pulga has tried a lot, often succeeded before finding the fault. Jostled in the 94th minute, Messi obtained an ideal free kick… which he sent into the top corner to close this first luminous appearance. The franchise of David Beckham remained so far on eleven games without success.
“A dream come true”
“What I looked at is the goal. I knew I had to score, it was the last action of the match, commented the hero on Apple TV. This will give us confidence for the future”. Its president, David Beckham, did not hide his pride: “It’s very exciting tonight for our supporters. (…) It is a dream come true for all those who are in this stage. »
Thousands of pink flags representing Messi and his number ten had been distributed in the stands. A small gift that modestly offset the hundreds of dollars spent to attend the meeting. The cheapest tickets available for resale on Friday morning were displayed at 160 dollars on the specialized site Vividseats. The most expensive exceeded 8,800 dollars, a record for this competition.
Proof of the enthusiasm aroused by the world champion, world stars had made the trip to Fort Lauderdale… We were able to see NBA player LeBron James take a selfie with club president David Beckham. Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian were also present, in the front row.