Lionel Messi wins first trophy with Inter Miami in wild penalty shootout
Inter Miami won the Leagues Cup, a tournament pitting the top soccer clubs from the top leagues in the United States, Canada and Mexico, on penalty kicks on Saturday night. And of course Lionel Messi, the club’s new main attraction, played a big role in bringing home his first piece of hardware at his new club.
Messi, along with burying a penalty kick, also scored the lone goal for Inter Miami in the run of play during the 90 minutes of regulation.
It all set up for a Drake Callender save in frame for Inter Miami giving the club a win, 10-9, in penalty kicks over Nashville SC after a 1-1 tie couldn’t be broken.
For good measure, Callender had just buried the go-ahead penalty for Inter Miami as the 11th penalty taker.
Messi, of course, had cooly begun the PKs with a make for his team.
But his earlier goal was yet another stunner on his growing CV of MLS golazos since arriving over the summer.
In the 23rd minute of a nil-nil game, Messi collected a deflected ball on the outer fringes of the 18-yard box, to the left of the goalkeeper. With a few deft dribbles across the penalty area, he found his spot and picked his spot on net, firing a smooth goal to give Inter Miami a 1-0 lead.
It wasn’t enough to get the team a win in regulation, but Messi was an integral as ever in yet another club hoisting some hardware after a hard-fought tournament.
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And now Inter Miami are Leagues Cup champs, what they are hoping is the first of many trophies the club will win with Messi in the fold.
Messi has been on a tear in MLS, having scored 9 goals in 6 games entering Saturday night
Messi’s magical start in the MLS is finding no end. The international superstar scored his ninth goal in the first half of a game against Philadelphia on Tuesday night and it might have been his best goal yet.
The Argentinian sprinted up through the middle of the field and had three defenders in front of him.
He looped past a trailing defender then split the other two with a low, driven shot at the far post. The shot perfectly evaded the Philadelphia keeper to make it 2-0 Inter Miami.
The goal was Lionel Messi’s ninth in the MLS so far. He has scored in all six games he has played in, a remarkable feat.