Lionel Messi scores dramatic last-minute free kick in Inter Miami debut: Instant analysis
If you didn’t believe it before, believe it now: Lionel Messi is an MLS player. The Argentine World Cup winner made his debut for Inter Miami CF on Friday night, playing just over 35 minutes and scoring a dramatic last-minute goal off a free kick in a 2-1 win against Cruz Azul in both teams’ Leagues Cup opener in front of a sold-out and raucous DRV PNK Stadium.
Messi’s introduction can now take its place alongside other seminal debuts of global soccer stars in the U.S. club game, namely those of Pele for the New York Cosmos in 1975 and David Beckham for the LA Galaxy in 2007.
Beckham is now Inter Miami co-owner, and was in attendance on Friday night along with seemingly countless other global celebrities from the world of sports, music, film and more.
Paul Tenorio, Tom Bogert, and Jeff Rueter have thoughts and analysis on a historic night in South Florida.
The big moment
In the final seconds of the game, Lionel Messi drew a foul about 25 yards from goal.
The crowd stood and cheered immediately because everyone knew what it meant at that moment: regulation for this game would essentially end with Messi taking a free kick from one of the most dangerous places on the field.
The “Messi” chants came out immediately. Fans who were starting to head for the exits — not realizing there would be a penalty shootout if the game ended in a tie — stopped near the exits to watch the moment.
And Messi delivered.
The free kick was exactly 24.2 yards out from goal. The expected goals (xG) from that spot: 0.08. But it was Messi, so how could any stat really quantify it?
Messi approached the ball, swung his magical left foot and the crowd got what they came to see. Messi’s shot found the upper left corner of the net. Fireworks shot off. The fans jumped to their feet. The stadium went absolutely wild.
Messi had delivered an absolutely iconic moment for his debut. The game-winning goal in the final gasps of the game. It’s why he is the player he is. He delivers in those moments consistently. And now, he does it in Miami.
– Tenorio
Who was there?
The superstars came out to DRV PNK Stadium to witness history.
NBA icon LeBron James was pitchside to watch Messi’s Inter Miami debut. James, who has a small minority ownership stake in Liverpool FC, shared a warm embrace and long hug with Messi next to the bench just before kickoff. Tennis GOAT Serena Williams was there as well, with the sports world well represented.
Kim Kardashian and her kids were pitchside too, with Kardashian telling the Apple TV broadcast that her son is “obsessed with soccer.” Pop star Becky G sung the national anthem while Inter Miami investor Marc Anthony was in the stands. And, of course, Inter Miami co-owner David and Victoria Beckham were in attendance.
Messi’s former international teammate and close friend Sergio Aguero was in attendance, as well.
Just a normal day in the Leagues Cup, right? I wonder who was at Orlando City vs. Houston Dynamo, kicking off at the same time!
— Tom Bogert
The scene of the debut
The crowd didn’t get to see much of Messi through the first half. Inter Miami’s substitutes didn’t warm up on the field ahead of the game and the subs seemed to go into the tunnel during the first half when they went to get warm. Messi and the subs emerged at halftime to work out on the field, though it seemed to almost go unnoticed by the home crowd. The entire perimeter of the field was lined with police officers and security guards to prevent any pitch invaders.
Messi was noticed more when he got up to warm up on the sideline during the second half. He waved at fans as he headed toward the corner to get warm, and the supporters’ section started to chant his name as he jogged along the end line behind the goal that Cruz Azul was defending. Messi warmed up next to fellow new signing Sergio Busquets and forward Josef Martinez.
At 9:26 p.m., Messi turned and ran toward midfield to enter the game as a substitute. The fans cheered and chanted his name. Cell phones went up around the stadium to record the moment. In the 54th minute, Messi entered for Argentine-American homegrown player Benjamin Cremaschi, a Miami native. The fans cheered. Messi jogged onto the field and high-fived some teammates and the center referee, then immediately had the captain’s armband placed on his left arm by DeAndre Yedlin.
With 55:30 showing on the clock in the stadium, the fans cheered again as Messi took his first touch of the night — and his first touch as an Inter Miami player.
– Tenorio
Spare a thought for Ian Fray
In the 26th minute, a somber moment darkened an otherwise festive occasion, as Inter Miami homegrown defender Ian Fray went down with a non-contact injury and required a substitution.
Fray pounded the grass in frustration and left the field in tears. He refused the stretcher, wanting to limp off with the help of staff.
The 20-year-old Florida native has had a brutal last few years. He broke into the Miami second team at 17 and was billed as a player with a potentially big future, but he missed the entirety of both the 2021 and 2022 seasons, tearing his ACL in preseason each year.
Fray broke into the first team this year, appearing in 12 straight games (including eight starts) after coming back from rehabbing both torn ACLs. Judging by his reaction, he’s fearing the worst once again.
After the match, Messi dedicated the win to Fray.
— Bogert
Yes, Messi tried an Olimpico
The game on Friday night was Messi’s first on-field action since June 15, when he played in a friendly for Argentina against Australia.
Despite the five-week break, however, Messi went for a little trickery in his debut. In the 68th minute, Messi lined up a corner kick from the right side. He waved off a teammate who had come over as a short option, then whipped in a left-footed ball that very clearly was seeking the far post and an Olimpico.
MLS has seen absolute heroic goals in debuts before — Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s long-distance volley is an iconic moment — and Messi was clearly trying for a similar start to his career in America. The ball went harmlessly over the end line a few yards wide of the target, but it was clearly a sign that Messi understands that fans are here to be entertained by the Argentine star, and he’s very happy to oblige.
Messi sensed the moment throughout his time on the field. He dribbled defenders in tight spaces, pulled step-overs out and was clearly looking to please the crowd that chanted his name. Even when he sent an easy “assist” to Josef Martinez on a play in which he was ruled offside, it looked like Messi took an extra second before playing the pass to see if he could find space to score in that moment.
— Tenorio
Miami’s tactical look
Lionel Messi was nominally the right winger in Miami’s 4-3-3, but — obviously — he drifted inside and played more of a free role to maximize his attacking impact. Messi’s new teammates would first look for Messi in most sequences.
Defensively, Messi had zero responsibility— also obviously. DeAndre Yedlin deputized the right flank, providing attacking width from right back then midfielders Dixon Arroyo and Sergio Busquets would try to cover defensively if Yedlin got caught too far forward.
Busquets was at the base of the midfield three, looking to dictate the game. Josef Martinez subbed in as lone striker. He or Leo Campana will get the minutes there. Martinez and Busquets subbed in with Messi.
This was only Tata Martino’s second match in charge of Inter Miami. Every tactical and personnel datapoint will be granularly analyzed as this roster undergoing huge change.
-Bogert
Was the free kick the best moment in MLS history?
When you think of iconic moments in MLS history and iconic debuts, the first thought is Zlatan Ibrahimovic changing the game in his debut for the LA Galaxy and scoring a volley from 45 yards.
Messi decided to match it tonight, adding a moment to a conversation that features that goal, Gareth Bale’s game-tying goal in MLS Cup, and even Kaká’s deflected free kick in Orlando City’s MLS debut.
These are the types of moments that reach beyond the normal MLS fans. It’s the benefit that comes with superstar players joining MLS teams: Big-time players delivering in the moments in which they are expected to deliver. It’s that type of ability to deliver on which their stardom was built. Messi’s goal on Friday now goes right to the top with that Zlatan volley — a moment that will be shared and remembered forever in MLS history.
– Tenorio
Can Inter Miami win a trophy this year?
In short: yes, but it’ll be difficult. The Florida side is still alive in multiple competitions. A good result on Tuesday against Atlanta United will certainly seal a spot in the knockout round of the Leagues Cup, and anything can happen from there.
In the U.S. Open Cup, Inter Miami is currently in the semifinals, so only two wins stand between them and silverware.
In MLS, it’s a much, much tougher climb. Inter Miami is currently dead last in the league and faces a big climb to even make the playoffs.
I ran through all of these competitions and scenarios in detail last week, and you can read all about it here.
– Rueter
(Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
