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Argentine player Facundo Callejo has warned Inter Miami's Lionel Messi while competing to be the highest Argentine goal scorer this year. So far, Callejo has scored 18 goals, six behind that of Lionel Messi.
Facundo Callejo has been playing amazingly so far, scoring 18 goals across all competitions for Peru's Cusco FC this year. He topped the list by scoring 14 goals in the Apertura Tournament, with four more scored during Clausura. Overall, he is six behind Lionel Messi, who has produced 24 goals across all competitions for Inter Miami this year.
In a X post on August 10, Callejo quoted a post that listed Lionel Messi as the top goal scorer from Argentina. The list featured Callejo in the second position, while wrongly counting 17 goals to his name. He corrected the same, while sending a warning to Lionel Messi. He wrote:
"They’re my 18 … watch out, Lío, don’t let your guard down."
On the other hand, Lionel Messi has been going through a red-hot form, with 24 goals and 10 assists in 31 matches across all competitions for Inter Miami. But the Argentine maestro recently picked up a muscle injury during the Leagues Cup match against Necaxa on August 2.
Messi left the pitch in the 11th minute, and has missed their next Leagues Cup game against UNAM Pumas (August 6) and MLS match against Orlando City (August 10). It remains to be seen when he returns to the pitch.
Inter Miami needs to play differently without Lionel Messi says Javier Mascherano
Inter Miami boss Javier Mascherano has admitted that his side are learning to play differently with Lionel Messi's absence. He claimed that the Argentine maestro was always the one with the eye for the final pass, and now his players need to find a different solution.
In an interaction with the media, Mascherano noted the importance of Inter Miami qualifying for the knockout stages of the Leagues Cup. He is not thinking about long-term, and is analysing opponents game-by-game as they wait for Lionel Messi's return. He said:
"We feel it quite a bit, obviously, because he ends the plays, he starts the plays, and he's the one who has the last pass. But I think we knew how to handle it well, and we anxiously await him getting back on the pitch. Qualifying [for the knockouts] is a very important step for us. Let's see how we work and analyze our next opponents; this is step by step."
Highlighting about the difference of playing with and without the Argentine, he added:
"When Leo is playing, we have a base of space that can open the game many times, right? And that player between the lines that comes in to create the superiority is not forced. It's natural, because Leo is the one that gives us the possibilities; we can play it in a different manner. When he's not there, we need to look for different options."
Lionel Messi was in amazing form with six braces in his last seven MLS games for the club.
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