Lionel Messi claims he envisioned his winner in the 94th minute before hitting the sensational free-kick as he knew he ‘had to score’ before sending Inter Miami fans into a frenzy
- During a Spanish-language interview, Messi paid tribute to one of his teammates
- Defender Ian Fray seemed to have sustained a serious knee injury in the first half
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Lionel Messi understandably stole the show with his Friday night presence at Fort Lauderdale’s DRV PNK Stadium – bolstered by a free-kick winner in the 94th minute.
Messi had shown flashes of genius since coming on in the 54th minute to give Miami a 1-0 lead.
Soon after, Cruz Azul had equalized to tie the score at 1–1. Messi probed – both by feeding teammates and taking a shot himself – but it seemed the game was destined for penalties, before Messi had one last gift for Inter Miami fans.
Speaking through an interpreter on the Apple TV broadcast, Messi talked about what he saw when he came up for the free kick.
“I saw the goal, I knew I had to score because it was the last game of the game – and I wanted to score so we didn’t get penalties,” he said.
Lionel Messi scored a sensational free kick to seal a 2-1 win for Inter Miami vs. Cruz Azul
The Argentine ran off to celebrate with his family after posting another memorable moment
The result will be a much-needed confidence boost for Inter Miami ahead of Tuesday’s game
Miami defenseman Ian Fray appeared to have suffered a serious knee injury during the first half
“It was very important for us to get this victory… this will give us confidence to continue.”
The man of the moment also spoke to the Espanyol iteration postgame amid the wild scenes surrounding him.
Despite being so close to his Miami teammates, Messi paid tribute to Ian Fray, who suffered a seemingly serious knee injury in the 26th minute.
“Let me dedicate this victory to Ian Fray,” Messi said through the grapevine Twitter. ‘[He] suffered in the locker room from the injury he sustained.
“He’s coming off two serious injuries and today he’s unlucky enough to get another injury.”
The next game for Inter Miami is game two of the third Leagues Cup group matches; vs. Atlanta United on July 25 at the same location as Messi’s last, but certainly not last, moment.