Lionel Messi scored in the second minute of second-half stoppage time from a pass from Jordi Alba, and Inter Miami salvaged a 1-1 draw against LA Galaxy on Sunday night.
Dejan Joveljic scored in the 75th minute for the Galaxy, who came close to delivering a surprise early-season blow to Messi and his new MLS powerhouse before the Argentine superstar worked a little more magic with LA down to ten men.
After completing a give-and-go passing sequence with Alba, his old Barcelona teammate, Messi slid forward and fired a shot into the roof of the net above Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy.
The goal electrified the raucous crowd in Miami’s first road game of the season. Thousands of fans wore Messi shirts among the 27,642 in attendance – a record for a regular-season Galaxy match at their suburban stadium.
Inter Miami are heavy betting favorites to dominate MLS this season after Messi and Luis Suárez teamed up with fellow ex-Barca stars Sergio Busquets and Alba. Miami won their season opener at home last Wednesday, but were often outplayed by the rebuilding Galaxy four days later in Messi’s first appearance against the club that once employed Inter co-owner David Beckham.
The Galaxy are known for the kind of high-profile veteran signings Miami has collected in the past year, but the LA club is rebuilding without any big names this time around.
The young Galaxy exerted more consistent attacking pressure than the league’s new showcase team, scoring 23 shots to Miami’s 11 and repeatedly generating chances in the penalty area. Miami responded with physical defense but could not mount a consistent attack despite Messi’s play up front.
After generating better chances and controlling possession for much of the night, the Galaxy finally broke through late in the second half. Miami’s Drake Callender made a diving save on Riqui Puig’s shot, but Mark Delgado controlled the rebound and passed to a wide-open Joveljic for a tap-in goal.
Delgado was shown a second yellow card in the 87th minute for a highly questionable foul, and Messi was presented with a golden opportunity two minutes later when Alba found him with a pass at the top of the Galaxy’s penalty area. The superstar’s shot flew wide left, leaving him rubbing his forehead in disappointment.
With another chance four minutes later, Messi did not miss.
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The stadium south of downtown Los Angeles was packed and buzzing with excitement two hours before Messi’s first match against the Galaxy, a five-time MLS champion franchise long known as the destination of choice for superstars from Europe looking for a new home after reaching middle age. The 30’s.
Beckham, who catalyzed the growth of MLS with his move to the Galaxy in 2007, has a statue outside the team’s stadium. He is also a key reason for Inter’s rise to the role long occupied by the Galaxy, with the likes of Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and Zlatan Ibrahimovic being employed late in their careers.
The excitement surrounding this match was a thrill for MLS commissioner Don Garber.
“It represents pretty much everything we wanted this sport to be, and what we’ve worked so hard on for so many years,” said Garber, who met with Beckham and Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz before the match. “Everyone is working hard to build on this momentum. … To me, this is very much about where we were in 2007 and where we are now.