Lionel Messi gesture to Inter Miami teammate after debut win sums him up
Lionel Messi has dedicated his debut Inter Miami victory to teammate Ian Fray, who suffered a serious-looking injury earlier in the match.
Fray, 20, was substituted off at the half-hour mark of their Leagues Cup opener against Cruz Azul at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. A non-contact injury forced the defender to be replaced by fellow youngster Noah Allen.
After recovering from the loss of Fray, Inter Miami took the lead on the stroke of half-time through midfielder Robert Taylor, and then the cavalry arrived after half-time. While Messi and Sergio Busquets, plus Josef Martinez, were introduced ten minutes after the break, their introduction did not quite go immediately to plan.
Ten minutes later, the visitors from Mexico found an equaliser through Uriel Antuna after finally beating Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender. However, Messi conjured a 94th-minute free-kick to seal the three points in trademark style.
Afterwards, he showed his character by taking a moment to acknowledge his stricken colleague. "Let me dedicate this victory to Ian (Fray), who was suffering in the locker room from the injury he sustained," Messi said to a pitchside MLS Español reporter after the match.
Mbappe misses two penalties and open goal in one minute before going off injured
"He comes from two serious injuries, and today he has the bad luck to go through an injury again.” As the World Cup winner alludes to, this is a familiar feeling for Fray.
The Florida native, who came through their academy to sign as a homegrown player, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in training one month after stepping up to the senior side in 2021. That was followed less than a year later by another brutal blow when he again suffered another ACL injury that meant missing the entirety of the 2022 MLS season.
Lionel Messi announced his arrival in Miami with a free-kick (Getty)Fray finally returned to the pitch in May and has featured 13 times for Inter Miami this season. However, the youngster now seems set for another spell on the sidelines.
Having Messi dedicate his big day to Fray will hopefully provide some solace, as should the side securing their first win in seven weeks despite losing the defender early on. The Argentina international's moment of magic in added time ended the drought, and he spoke frankly about what was going through his mind afterwards.
“What I saw was the goal," Messi said when explaining the last-minute free-kick through a translator. "I saw the goal; I knew I had to score. It was the last play of the game, and I wanted to score so we didn’t go to penalties. It was very important for us to get this win because, in the tournament, it’s going to give us confidence moving forward.”
The 2-1 win sees Inter Miami sit top of Group 10. The top two teams progress, so avoiding defeat in their next match against Atlanta.
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