Inter Miami’s Argentine forward #10 Lionel Messi fights for the ball during the MLS football match between Inter Miami and Real Salt Lake at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 21, 2024.
Messi and Jordi Alba, half of the club’s Big Four and ex-FC Barcelona superstars, expertly combined down the left flank – as they’ve so often done during their illustrious careers. Spotting an opening, Alba found Messi for a sliding finish that canceled out Dejan Joveljic’s 75th-minute opener.
With their captain’s moment of brilliance, Inter Miami are now 1W-0L-1D to start the year. They beat Real Salt Lake, 2-0, on Wednesday at home before flying cross-country to battle LA’s new-look attack of Joveljic, Riqui Puig, Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec.
Until Messi opened his ledger, Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender was arguably the man of the match. He saved Puig’s first-half penalty kick and made eight saves.