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Lionel Messi saw his close friend Luis Suárez almost score a hat-trick in the first half.
Messi almost scored his own goal after half-time.
Messi scored two goals in five minutes in the second half, Suárez added two goals with two assists in the first 11 minutes and Robert Taylor scored another goal as Inter Miami cruised to a 5-0 victory over their in-state rivals at Chase on Saturday Orlando City entered stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Inter Miami has seven points to start the 2024 MLS season after three games with two wins and a draw. It was the kind of performance that would make you think Messi and Suárez were still in the prime of their careers rather than at the end of their careers .
“We're doing well, we're having fun, we're growing,” Messi said in a post-match interview with Apple TV. “Today it was important to win a game to continue this path of growth and the truth is that this must make us very strong for everything that is to come.”
Messi's first goal was clumsy and funny: He chested a rebound and attempted a chip shot while standing in front of an empty net as Orlando City's Rodrigo Schlegel tried to pull him away. Messi just laughed when the ball rolled into the net in the 57th minute.
Messi's second goal was a beauty: he received a cross-field pass from Suarez and used his header to find the bottom left corner of the net in the 62nd minute.
Messi had two free kicks in the game, including in the 91st minute, but missed both opportunities to score his third goal. That wasn't necessary after the work Suárez did early on.
Suárez, the Uruguayan striker, scored his first goal from the right side in the fourth minute and his second goal from the left side in the 11th minute.
New signing Julian Gressel, who won two MLS Cups, assisted on both goals. Both players left the game after 67 minutes.
“It's so difficult to start again because I changed my shape and the way I played,” Suárez said of playing with Messi and scoring the first two goals of his Inter Miami career. “And I think he knows everything about me.”
Taylor extended the lead with a goal, his second of the year, after an assist from Suárez in the 29th minute.
Suárez almost had a hat-trick before half-time, but an offside call decided what could have been Inter Miami's fourth goal as Taylor was ruled offside.
Messi also had several attempts and missed a free kick at the left post in the 34th minute before the floodgates opened in the second half.
A day after the four-year anniversary of Inter Miami's first game in Major League Soccer, the club secured its biggest win in team history as the former FC Barcelona stars showed they still have a lot left in the tank.
“These guys aren’t here to put their feet up. And I think that’s what you’ve seen in the last few weeks,” Gressel said of Messi and Suárez. “They were great. They want to win. And they try everything to ensure the team wins.”
The game was Inter Miami's third game of the season and took place six days after the last. But with Inter Miami the road becomes arduous again with five games in 14 days, while Messi could play seven games in 21 days – his last two against Argentina for the Copa America warm-ups later this month.
“We have to be more careful with the recovery of the players,” said Inter Miami coach Tata Martino.
Below the photo you can see a summary of the game and the highlights before the game:
Lionel Messi found the net for the second time, scoring a header in the 62nd minute that gave Inter Miami a 5-0 lead.
Messi ran down the right side and received a cross-field pass from Suárez, which Messi drilled perfectly into the left corner of the net.
Messi scored after a chest pass while an Orlando City defender tried to pull him away from a chip shot into the net in the 56th minute to give Inter Miami a 4-0 lead.
It was a funny scene with the defender physically pulling Messi away when the easiest scoring opportunity presented itself.
Jordi Alba put a shot into the net, but Orlando's Robin Jansson shot out of the net.
Messi came across to stop the ball with his chest before Orlando's Rodrigo Schlegel blocked his chip shot into the net.
Messi watched the ball slowly roll into the net.
Messi had another chance to score during Inter Miami's defeat, but he went right wide.
Messi's miss came in the 54th minute, immediately after two misses from Julian Gressel.
Gressel's second shot hit the top post and came back into play instead of the net, while his first shot was too high.
Ojeda's goal is not good: Inter Miami 3, Orlando City 0
Inter Miami almost conceded a goal early in the second half, but the score remains 3-0.
Orlando City's Martin Ojeda was denied by Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callendar, but the referees ruled he was offside after the free kick.
Luis Suárez almost scored a hat-trick before half-time and wagged his finger in dissatisfaction at the referee's decision, but Robert Taylor was ruled offside.
Suárez dribbled past Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, who was too far from the net, and scored a goal that dribbled into the net.
It was almost a hat trick for Suárez and Inter Miami could have taken a 4-0 lead before halftime.
Lionel Messi had the chance to put a free kick into the net but couldn't convert it.
Messi's kick had the patented curve you've seen from him throughout his career, but his shot hit the left post outside the outstretched hands of Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
Inter Miami rolled in the first half against Orlando City, with Robert Taylor scoring his second goal of the season in the 29th minute.
Taylor received a pass from Luis Suárez, who scored the first two goals of the game. And Inter Miami luckily stayed out.
Orlando City goalkeeper Pedo Gallese played too close to Suárez, giving Taylor an open goal.
Lionel Messi almost had a shot on goal, but an Orlando City player stopped him near the net in the 25th minute.
However, Messi quickly mesmerized fans with two dribbles that elicited “oohs” and “aahs” from the fans in attendance.
While dribbling, Messi just placed a ball in front of a running defender. On the other hand, Messi only played with the defender.
Two goals in 11 minutes for Luis Suárez.
This time, Suárez's left boot from the left side of the pitch gave Inter Miami an early 2-0 lead against Orlando City.
It's a brace for Suárez, who smiled brightly as he hugged Lionel Messi and Robert Taylor after the goal.
Luis Suárez was in pain for a minute. The next moment he found the end of the net.
Suárez scored a goal in the 4th minute of the game after a pass from Julian Gressel.
Suarez went down after a foul from a defender and appeared to be resting his right leg in the third minute. He struggled in his first two games against Inter Miami. But an opening goal was an ideal start.
Spirits were high as Messi walked onto the pitch for a pre-match warm-up. He received a loud ovation and quickly greeted the fans sitting in the stands. He also did some warm-up exercises with his teammate Luis Luis Suárez and even took a practice penalty.
Messi is in Inter Miami's starting lineup. Here are the lineups for both teams:
Major League Soccer's referee lockout reached a crucial turning point Saturday, just hours before Lionel Messi and Inter Miami meet in a nationally televised match.
Referee Guiherme Ceretta was recalled from the officiating team for Inter Miami's game against Orlando City, scheduled for 4:30 p.m., after photos of him wearing Inter Miami attire surfaced online.
“Referee Guiherme Ceretta was removed from the game due to a possible conflict,” the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports before the game.
Does Messi speak English? Inter Miami teammate tells a funny story
Lionel Messi speaks a little more English than he lets on – a surprise for the Inter Miami star, who won the World Cup with Argentina.
Inter Miami's Julian Gressel said Messi gave him clear instructions in English during a pre-season game in Saudi Arabia.
Messi's reaction after speaking to Gressel in English: English, pretty good, right?
Inter Miami coach Tata Martino expressed concern about how hard Messi played in the first two games of the season. Maintaining Messi's body also plays an important role in the long term.
“Of course I discussed some things with him. What worries me the most is the day-to-day and how he recovers from game to game,” Martino said.
“I feel like we over-relied on him in every match in the first two games, which led to significant fatigue in both games.”
Messi has scored a game-winning goal and an assist in his first two games this season. Inter Miami goes into the game with four out of six possible points after a win over Real Salt Lake and a draw against the Galaxy.
Parallel to Inter Miami's season, Messi is expected to travel to Argentina this summer for the Copa America, which could be his last major international tournament after the 2022 World Cup. He is 36.
Messi's workload will be considerably heavy with five Inter Miami games and two games with the Argentina national team over the next three weeks of March.
Inter Miami's home game against Orlando City on Saturday begins a five-game stretch in two weeks. The second and fourth games of the series will take place in the round of 16 of the Concacaf Champions Cup against Nashville SC.
Messi was also selected by Argentina will play in two recently announced games – March 22 against El Salvador in Philadelphia and March 26 against Costa Rica in Los Angeles – giving him seven games in 21 days.
If Messi plays in the friendlies, he would miss Inter Miami's away game against the New York Red Bulls at the Red Bull Arena on March 23. Inter Miami's March 30 home game against New York FC could be either Messi's return or a rest day after his March slate.
Argentina will play either Canada or Trinidad and Tobago in the tournament opener on June 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Argentina's second game will be against Chile on June 25 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Argentina also plays Peru on June 29 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Copa America final will be played on July 14 at the home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins.
Before Argentina takes part in the Copa America, there are two warm-up games: June 9 against Ecuador at Soldier Field in Chicago; June 14 against Guatemala at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
Messi would miss at least five Inter Miami games this summer if Argentina reach the Copa América final again. The possible games: June 15 at Philadelphia Union; June 19 vs. Columbus Crew; June 29 in Nashville; July 3 at Charlotte FC; and July 6 at FC Cincinnati.
Lionel Messi has reached another milestone, this time on social media.
Messi, the 2022 World Cup winner and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as the best footballer, reached 500 million followers on Instagram last weekend.
Check out his thank you post here.
Messi goes viral with his dribbling over the injured player
With just one scene in his season opener, Lionel Messi showed why many consider him to be the best football player in the world.
Messi went viral after he ran over an injured defender – Andrew Brody – who was lying on the field after being stomped on the hand earlier in the sequence during the first half of Inter Miami's 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night was – dribbled.