Priya Aditi
No one can halt Lionel Messi, Wednesday night, the Argentine sensation continued his red-hot form for Inter Miami by scoring twice against Orlando City to advance his team to the Leagues Cup round of 16. Inter Miami secured a 3-1 victory to advance to the next round of the quarterfinal competition. After a 95-minute delay due to rain, Messi scored the game’s first goal in just seven minutes at the DRV PNK Stadium in Miami.
Rob Taylor of Inter Miami produced a through pass that found Messi in the penalty area. Left-footed strike from the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner found the back of the net without error. The official Major League Soccer (MLS) Twitter account shared a recording of Messi’s first goal of the match. This individual is Messi. Robert Taylor gives Messi a dime for the Inter Miami CF goal, according to the tweet.
The advantage did not last long, however, as Orlando City’s Uruguayan midfielder Cesar Araujo equalised the score 10 minutes later. Inter Miami retook the lead six minutes into the second half when Venezuelan forward Josef Martinez converted a penalty kick. Messi had the opportunity to take the penalty but instead chose to pass it to a teammate. Martinez seized the occasion to score his first goal for Inter Miami since the summer arrival of Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi scored the game’s second and final goal for the home team in the 72nd minute, effectively ending the contest. The World Cup champion executed a right-footed shot from the middle of the penalty area to secure the victory for Inter Miami.
Jordi Alba, a former Barcelona colleague of Lionel Messi, made his Inter Miami debut after being substituted on in the second half. On his Inter Miami debut, the Spaniard played for 26 minutes and registered 24 touches. Diego Gomez, a midfielder from Paraguay, also made his Inter Miami debut against Orlando City today. In today’s elimination game, Messi received his first yellow card in the MLS.
Inter Miami dominated the match with 64 percent of the ball possession and advanced to the next round quite convincingly. They recorded a total of 12 strikes, one more than their opponent Orlando City.
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Five goals have been scored by Lionel Messi in three appearances for Inter Miami. Messi played his first complete 90 minutes in an Inter Miami jersey during the match against Orlando City. Due to today’s victory, he will play his first away game for Inter Miami against FC Dallas on Sunday.
