The most surprising part of Lionel Messi’s night wasn’t the dizzying skip down the right flank, the cut inside and the crisp, perfectly-timed left-foot finish.
Nor was it the charge through the middle that came later, somehow finding gaps mere inches wide, before finally bouncing off a defender’s challenge and sliding home another goal, to cap off a comfortable 4-1 victory.
By now, Messi’s mystifying skills are to be expected, not that they ever get old. No, the head-scratching part of Saturday evening, as Inter Miami returned to MLS action by dispatching CF Montreal with little fuss, was how it started.
Within the first two minutes, Messi did something extraordinarily out of character. Running to collect a loose ball in his own half and facing the Miami goal, the 2022 World Cup champion ill-advisedly knocked an errant pass toward his backline, only for it to find the feet of fast-advancing Montreal forward Prince Owusu.
Owusu took it in stride, advanced on goal, and moments later, the Canadian side, rooted at the foot of MLS’ Eastern Conference standings, had taken a shock lead.
It wouldn’t take long for normal service to be resumed, however. If anything, Messi looked temporarily embarrassed and almost immediately energized by the wish to atone for his mistake.
After Tadeo Allende made it 1-1, Messi’s first goal to put the visitors ahead after 40 minutes was one of the most pleasing on the eye since he moved to Major League Soccer.
Messi’s trademark fleet-footedness saw him streak down the right, turn suddenly inwards, bamboozle three defenders and fire past goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
Just after Telsaco Segovia made it 3-1 on the hour, Messi added another, this time bursting through the middle, picking his way through a barrage of defenders, and capping off another majestic performance. Second-minute error? Long forgotten.
It is a somewhat strange time of year for the Florida side. Saturday’s clash took place just hours after PSG defeated Bayern Munich in a Club World Cup quarterfinal in Atlanta. Had Inter Miami not succumbed to the French Champions League winner by a 4-0 margin last week, that’s the fixture they would have been taking part in. The quick return to MLS action did not seem to have slowed them down any.
Despite that despondent ending to the Club World Cup campaign, Miami’s involvement in the tournament generally deserves to be seen as a success, reaching the knockout stage and claiming a notable win over Porto in the second group match.
For now, however, domestic action takes focus once again. Miami sits sixth in the Eastern Conference and is 10 points behind leader Cincinnati, but has four games in hand on account of the Club World Cup absence.
Even though a strong upcoming run could potentially put Miami near or top of the standings, the level of dominance in league play is not the same as last season, when the Supporters Shield was easily secured, but the MLS title tilt ended with a shock defeat to Atlanta United in the team’s first playoff series.
Things have not gone all Miami’s way of late, and Messi’s frustration following the PSG result even sparked speculation in his native Argentina that a move away from the U.S. might be on the cards. Given his performance and energy level on Saturday, he seemed content with where he is for now.
(Top photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
