HARRISON, NJ — All Lionel Messi needed was 30 minutes to send a capacity crowd who spent hundreds of dollars to see him, pined for him for 60 minutes, into a satisfied frenzy — and to create a core memory for New York sports fans.
The legendary forward, subbed on in the 60th minute, scored his 11th goal in nine matches for Inter Miami in the 89th minute, a simple tap-in at the front of goal as his side defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-0 at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. The appearance was Messi’s MLS debut after appearing in seven Leagues Cup matches and a US Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday.
“He had an impact on the game,” Red Bulls captain Sean Nealis said. “He’s a great player… we have to be better in facilitating our style of play throughout the whole game.”
Receiving the ball in the middle of the box after a brilliant move to find him, Messi threaded a pass to the right wing to Benjamin Cremaschi. The Miami forward instantly played it back to the middle where Messi’s unmarkable run found him all alone with nothing but an open net in front of him leaving Red Bulls keeper Carlos Coronel without a prayer.
“This was something that I tried to communicate all week long to the group as well as something we were well aware of in general,” Red Bulls head coach Troy Lesesne said. “They have a lot of quality… and you have to respect that quality.”
It’s the first step in the league for a Miami team that entered play ranked dead-last in the Eastern Conference. The three points immediately hopped them over lowly Toronto FC, who has played three more goals.
For the Red Bulls, the loss makes their hill to the playoffs a bit steeper. They remain three points back of ninth place in the East, which is the final playoff spot, with the ninth-place Chicago Fire now having played one fewer match.
“That’s what was being focused on all week,” Lesesne said. “We had a job to do. We wanted to see later focus on that.”
With Messi…
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