The Argentine bagged two assists in a narrow victory, including the pass for a last-second winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have begun their 2025 Leagues Cup journey with three crucial points, defeating Liga MX side Atlas 2-1 on Wednesday evening in Southern Florida.
Rodrigo De Paul, newly acquired from Atletico Madrid, made his highly anticipated debut, being inserted into the XI after just being cleared to play earlier in the day. The 31-year-old played an exceptional match, fitting perfectly alongside a truly outstanding Sergio Busquets on the day.
However, Messi – as it has been all season – was again the catalyst.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner bagged the assist on each strike for the , leading them to an important victory in their first of three Phase One matches in the competition.
The contest itself was a contentious one, and Atlas forced Miami into a corner multiple times, but the resilience of the Argentine superstar led Miami to the win in front of their home crowd.
After a scoreless first 45 minutes, the two teams went into the halftime break in what was seemingly an even deadlock. Miami striker Luis Suarez had hit the post, but Atlas forced two great saves out of Rocco Ríos Novo as well.
Things opened up in the 60th minute. Busquets played a dime of a pass to Messi, who laid it off to winger Telasco Segovia with his first touch to open the scoring. Without Atlas' defense being stout, the appeared fine to settle for a 1-0 win – that was until Atlas took advantage of a quick counter-attack with 10 minutes to spare. Defenders Marcelo Weigandt and Maxi Falcon were both beaten, and the Liga MX side found an equalizer through forward Rivaldo Lozano, who capitalized on a loose ball in the box.
With things at a stalemate headed towards the final whistle, penalties were looming, and coaches were pictured on the touchline preparing their lists for kicks from the spot. However, with what turned out to be the final play of the game, Miami drove forward one more time, and it was a doozy. Weigandt brought the ball upfield, and after a few passes, Messi was found outside the box. The Argentine played a delightful one-two with Suarez, and the 38-year-old proceeded to deliver a scintillating pass across the box to a sprinting Weigandt, who smashed home while falling to the ground.
After a lengthy VAR review, the goal stood, and Miami players swarmed each other, celebrating a crucial three points in their journey towards contending for Leagues Cup glory.
GOAL rates Inter Miami's players from Chase Stadium…
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Rocco Rios Novo (7/10):
Some really nice saves as he started in place of the injured Oscar Ustari. A top performance.
Jordi Alba (7/10):
Fantastic going forward and defensively sound when put under pressure. A real welcome back after his one-match suspension this past weekend.
Maxi Falcon (7/10):
Imposing in the back and rather solid in 1v1 defending. Got mixed up with a tackle on the late goal from Atlas, but hard to blame him for that one.
Gonzalo Lujan (6/10):
Composed when playing out of the back, and overall solid under pressure. However, he was a liability on set pieces and was often targeted in those moments.
Marcelo Weigandt (6/10):
The ups and downs of Chelo Weigandt. He was arguably Miami's worst performer on the day; he was targeted all evening by Atlas and was at fault for their equalizer. He was also the hero, though, scoring the stoppage-time winner. Funny.
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Tadeo Allende (6/10):
Some really strong runs going forward, stretching the game, but he never really landed an impact. Still played a role, though.
Rodrigo De Paul (8/10):
An extremely solid debut. He didn't put a foot wrong, played some delightful passes, and didn't look out of touch with the structure of the team. What an addition.
Sergio Busquets (9/10):
Genuinely stupendous midfield performance. Played a world-class through ball to Messi for Segovia's opener, and absolutely locked up the Atlas midfield.
Telasco Segovia (7/10):
He was rather poor for most of the contest. However, right place, right time, and he scored. That's all that matters. Job well done.
Attack
Lionel Messi (9/10):
Superstar performance. Two assists and two clutch moments of brilliant attacking football. Just splendid.
Luis Suarez (7/10):
Hit the post on the cusp of halftime and had some really nice moments in the box, but he never managed to get it past the Atlas goalkeeper. However, he played the initial ball to Messi on the second assist with some fantastic positioning in and around the box.
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Federico Redondo (5/10):
Came on midway through the second half, but picked up a late, sloppy yellow. That could be costly in the later stages of the tournament.
Benjamin Cremaschi (N/A):
Logged 13 minutes off the bench.
Javier Mascherano (7/10):
Messi's magic, once again, took over. Mascherano's tactical outline was seemingly the right one, even though it was a bit of a gamble to start De Paul, but everything worked out in the end. What a wonderful result for the club; you could not paint it any better.
Now, it's time to prepare for Matchday 2. A big test awaits the as they clash with Necaxa on Saturday.
