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Lionel Messi made the shift from the cosy reaches of Paris in France to the backwaters of Miami and has immediately set the league on fire. The Argentine star made his much-awaited debut in the USA for the Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami after coming on as a substitute and made an immediate impact to give his team the victory in the Group stage of the Leagues Cup against Mexican team Cruz Azul.
Drawing 1-1 would have extended the side's winless run to 11 games but such runs are meant to be broken with Messi on your roster. He took the game to his opponents in the fourth minute of injury time and scored a brilliant free kick to give Inter an impressive 2-1 victory over Azul.
The stadium erupted as expected and fireworks lit up the night sky the moment the ball crashed into the net. Messi ran to the corner to celebrate with his teammates and the fans, as the MLS side is currently at the bottom of the league table. with just 18 points in 22 games. The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner will now be tasked with turning his team's fortune around in the MLS.
Earlier, Robert Taylor’s excellent opener gave the MLS team the lead. A diagonal pass from American Robbie Robinson found Taylor in space, and the Finland international made space for himself and slammed in a low right-footed shot in off the far post just before half-time.
But then in the 65th minute, Uriel Antuna collected the ball in a dangerous position as goalkeeper Drake Callender was unable to deal with the powerful drilled strike, levelling the score.
Messi had no that great an impact but it was the 36-year-old only who won the free-kick deep in stoppage time and there was an air of inevitability before he sent the set-piece into the top left-hand corner as fireworks filled the air. This was a huge moment for Major League Soccer and a momentous night for North American football, 48 years on from Pele’s New York Cosmos bow and 16 years to the day since Beckham made his LA Galaxy debut.
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