Messi scored two goals, including the equalizer to tie the game at 4 in the 85th minute, and Inter Miami advanced past FC Dallas with a 5-3 edge on penalty kicks.
And this one in comeback fashion for Messi, the World Cup champion with Argentina and seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, and his new club.
“I thought we had it,” FC Dallas coach Nico Estévez said. “We put them in a really difficult position in this game.”
Messi and Inter Miami advance to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals on Aug. 11 or 12, where they await the winner of Monday night's Houston Dynamo FC-Charlotte FC matchup.
Messi tied the game in the 85th with a brilliant free kick into the right side of the net.
If his game-winning free kick in his Inter Miami debut was the most memorable, this kick had to be the most exciting so far in his MLS tenure, helping Inter Miami crawl back out of a two-goal deficit in the second half.
“I think it’s not much to say. I think everyone can see it,” Estévez said. “It’s obvious for him a free kick around there is like a PK for another player.”
Messi’s game-tying goal set the stage for the penalty kick shootout, for which he won the coin toss and then made the first goal.
FC Dallas’ Paxton Pomykal missed the second kick, dooming the home team after an impressive performance considering the stage.
Benjamin Cremaschi, an 18-year-old Miami native of Argentinian descent, sealed the final kick for Inter Miami.
“I knew where I was going, and I knew how I was going to take it,” said Cremaschi, who also sparked Inter Miami’s comeback off the bench with a goal in the 65th minute.
Inter Miami trailed 2-1 at halftime, 3-1 to start the second half and 4-2 after an own goal by Robert Taylor in the 68th minute.
It felt like Inter Miami’s own goal was the back-breaking blow, especially three minutes after Cremaschi’s goal.
But Messi took over.
Messi’s free kick connected with FC Dallas’ Marco Farfan, who scored an own goal of his own in the 80th minute, changing the tide of the contest.
And Messi’s final free kick of the game, before the penalty shootout, helped Inter Miami storm back in dramatic fashion.
“You have this sensation that he’s going to score,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said, likening Messi’s penchant for scoring free kicks as a 90-10 advantage for Messi and 10-90 disadvantage for any other player.
Lionel Messi reacts after scoring in the second half against FC Dallas.
It was Messi’s first road game with Inter Miami, and the club’s first deficit since Messi arrived.
It was also the first time Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba started together like they did as FC Barcelona teammates in their heyday.
Alba made his presence felt with two assists, on Messi’s opening goal in the sixth minute and Cremaschi’s score.
Source: USA TODAY
BDST: 1200 HRS, AUG 07, 2023
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