On Sunday night, the LA Galaxy pulled off a feat that few MLS teams have managed: They kept Lionel Messi largely quiet for most of the night, just not all night.
While the Galaxy appeared to be on their way to a season-opening win over Inter Miami CF at a sold-out Dignity Health Park in Carson, California, Messi popped up in second-half stoppage time to cancel out Dejan Joveljic's goal for the Galaxy, giving his team a save 1-1 draw.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (USA)
On a night when LA welcomed back one of its former stars in Miami co-owner David Beckham, the Galaxys were decidedly less hospitable to the South Florida club's talisman, harassing Messi all over the pitch throughout the game and holding him until away from the scorers list in the final minutes of the game.
Inter Miami started with its famous quartet of former Barcelona players on the field – Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez and Sergio Busquets alongside Messi – but it was another product of the club's La Masia academy in Ricard Puig who ran the show in the first half steel .
Puig, who joined the Galaxy in 2022, was everywhere in the first 45 minutes, distributing the ball to his teammates and forcing a goal-saving shot from Miami keeper Drake Callender, giving the home team the better chances in the first half.
The 24-year-old Puig also saved a penalty in the 13th minute, which Callender saved after Busquets dragged Galaxy new signing Joseph Paintsil to the ground from behind in the penalty area and the referee awarded Galaxy a penalty.
Messi had just 27 touches of the ball in the first half – his second fewest touches in a first half since joining Inter Miami – and the game went into the break 0-0.
“The team started to get better in the second half,” Miami coach Gerardo Martino said. “We started to control the game a little better, the ball moved more fluidly. It’s true that they dominated in the first half.” [the game]. I think it was the time when Riqui Puig had the most ball.
Paintsil continued to cause problems on the right wing early in the second half and once again Miami had Callender to thank for keeping his team in the game with two great saves before the 60 minute mark.
“Something similar happened in a lot of games last year,” Martino said of Callender. “He was decisive again, saved the penalty, fended off a few goal-threatening situations.”
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a goal for Inter Miami against the LA Galaxy.
Miami's best chance of the game came in the 69th minute when a Messi free kick bounced off the wall and fell to the feet of Diego Gómez just in front of the goal, but another Galaxy newcomer – John McCarthy – parried with a spectacular diving stop to keep the game goalless.
The Galaxy finally got the goal they deserved in the 75th minute when Puig's shot from the top of the box – at the end of another quick counterattack – was saved at the feet of Mark Delgado, who parried a pass to Joveljic aiming into the open net.
Delgado was sent off minutes later after his second yellow card. Miami took full advantage as Messi picked up a loose ball and played a series of one-twos with Alba before firing a left-footed shot into the net for his first goal of the 2024 MLS season.
“As he [Messi] “And for Alba to make a connection like that, it’s ridiculous,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said after the game. “It's really, really hard to defend and Alba is very good at finding Messi when he's moving like that. “Unfortunately he only got away from us for a split second and that made the difference.”
Vanney, however, was less enthusiastic about the second yellow penalty Delgado received for what he called a “soft” foul on Busquets – a decision by a substitute referee who was on duty due to the ongoing lockout of the regular MLS official group.
“Really, really soft. I mean, really soft,” Vanney said. “It's tough in a game like this where so many people are here to watch the game and it's also a big spectacle. You have to be careful when giving out soft yellows and that ultimately changes the game.”
The stadium south of downtown Los Angeles was two hours before Messi's first game against the Galaxy, a five-time MLS champion long known as a destination of choice for European superstars looking for a new home after reaching their halfway point. full of excitement. 30s.
Beckham, who accelerated MLS growth when he joined the Galaxy in 2007, has a statue outside the team's stadium. He is also one of the main reasons for Inter's rise to the role long held by the Galaxy, who employed players such as Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and Zlatan Ibrahimovic towards the end of their careers.
The excitement surrounding this game was a thrill for MLS commissioner Don Garber.
“It kind of represents everything that we've expected from this sport and that we've worked so hard to achieve for so many years,” said Garber, who met with Beckham and Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz before the game. “Everyone is working hard to build on this momentum.”
“For me it’s all about where we were in 2007 and where we are today.”
The Galaxy travel to San Jose for their next game, a California Classico against the Earthquakes on March 2, while Miami returns home to host in-state rival Orlando City the same day.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.