Lionel Messi came off the bench to score against New York Red Bulls on his first appearance for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer on Saturday night.
Fresh from leading the Florida outfit to the Leagues Cup title, the Argentine attacker kicked off his Major League Soccer career with another goal and a win in New York.
Paraguay midfielder Diego Gomez gave Miami the lead after 37 minutes and Messi had to wait until the hour mark to get on the pitch at all, coming on in a triple substitution with former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets and DeAndre Yedlin.
For his first regular season goal for the club 🎉Cremaschi ▶️ Messi!#RBNYvMIA | 0-2 pic.twitter.com/jyzfCqMKwQAugust 27, 2023
After replacing Ecuadorian forward Leonardo Campana, Messi was quieter than usual but still ended the evening on the scoresheet following an impressive move late in the game.
Jordi Alba acrobatically laid the ball off to Messi at full stretch and the Argentine, surrounded by several New York defenders in the area, slotted a perfectly weighted ball through to Benjamin Cremaschi at the far post and continued his run to tap home the return with 89 minutes played.
The passage of play was reminiscent of many of his standout moments at Barcelona and saw the 36-year-old finish with a goal on his MLS debut.
Messi now has 11 goals in nine appearances since signing for Miami earlier this summer, including 10 in seven games in the Leagues Cup.
Miami's win in New York lifts them off the bottom of the table, but they will need to go on an impressive run in order to seal a place in the MLS playoffs later this year.
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Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims Messi was 'very close' to a return to the Catalan club before he joined Inter Miami.
Messi has been joined in Miami by former Barcelona team-mates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, but there will be no reunion with his close friend Luis Suarez – for now at least.
Meanwhile, some MLS sides play on artificial grass and it is unclear whether Messi will be prepared to feature on that surface. His presence against Charlotte in October is therefore in doubt.
