Staff Reporter.
Lionel Messi had a hand in both goals as he helped Inter Miami beat Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer’s season opener on Wednesday.
Messi played in Robert Taylor for the first, with the midfielder’s first-half shot squeezing under visiting keeper Zac MacMath.
Messi, 36, also had a hand in Miami’s late second goal scored by Diego Gomez.
He linked up well with former Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez, who registered an assist on his MLS debut.
“He looked loose, fine and showed a lot of speed,” Miami coach Gerardo Martino said of Messi’s performance.
The 2022 World Cup winner missed the back end of last season for David Beckham’s MLS franchise through injury.
Earlier this week, Messi released a video to defend his absence from a friendly in Hong Kong on 5 February after a backlash from Chinese fans.
Inter Miami started its season with an international preseason tour with seven matches in five different countries — netting roughly 25,000 miles of travel, a total of eight goals, multiple apologies to refund-seeking fans after Messi missed a game in Hong Kong because of injury, and just one win.
“I think the eyes of the world are on Inter Miami, and I’m hoping that they’re able to deliver on that and whatever expectations people have,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who was at Wednesday’s match. “Mostly, I’d just like his experience to be good, the experience of the team to be successful, how they’re positioned both here in the league but also around the world.
“That’s the story that I think is most important to us.”
Messi had 11 goals in 14 total matches with Inter Miami last season, leading the team to a Leagues Cup championship — its first-ever trophy — shortly after he stunned much of the soccer world by signing a 2 1/2-year contract worth around $150 million. He appeared in only six MLS matches in 2023, scoring once. Injuries slowed him late in the 2023 season and Inter Miami, which was way out of the postseason picture when Messi joined last summer, didn’t make the MLS playoffs.
“I’m so happy,” Suarez said after the match in which his new team looked every bit like a contender. That wasn’t the case in the exhibition season.