Messi’s late goal saves Inter Miami to draw vs. LA Galaxy: Highlights, stats, match recap
Los Angeles Galaxy had five minutes to defeat Inter Miami and Lionel Messi.
But the greatest player in history had enough time to turn around Inter Miami and establish himself in Los Angeles.
To cap off the first weekend of the 2024 MLS season, Inter Miami and the Galaxy drew 1-1 on Sunday night thanks to a sliding kick by Messi in the 92nd minute of play.
Tata Martino, the Inter Miami coach, gave credit for the tie to “the genius of Leo.”
For ninety minutes, Messi and Inter Miami were frustrated and on the verge of losing their first game of the season.
It also seemed that Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and winner of the 2022 World Cup, would fail to score in two Major League Soccer games.
With Messi on the field and the crowd at Dignity Health Sports Park, which is sold out and the largest for a Galaxy game, totaling 27,642 tickets, no lead is safe.
Messi carried on working with longtime friend and Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba, passing back and forth until Messi tied the score two minutes into extra time with a left boot inside the goal area.
In the 75th minute, Dejan Joveljic of Galaxy took advantage of a rebound to score and give his team a 1-0 lead.
The star of the game up until then was Inter Miami goaltender Drake Callender, who finished with eight saves after blocking several efforts from Riqui Puig, Joseph Paintsil, and Miki Yamane of the Galaxy.
About Callender, Martino remarked, “He was largely responsible for the team’s continued participation in the game following the half.