Since his arrival at Inter Miami CF, Lionel Messi has wasted no time in becoming the main man in attack for his new team, who now find themselves in the Leagues Cup 2023 round of 16 after a perfect start. The club won both of their group stage match-ups and ran out 3-1 winners in their round of 32 clash against Orlando City SC. Messi was the star of the show in all three games, having scored five times and assisted once.
During Inter Miami’s opening game of the tournament, Messi came on at the 54-minute mark in the 2-1 win over **Cruz Azul**. In the next fixture, a 4-0 thrashing of **Atlanta United FC**, he was named in the starting eleven but came off after 78 minutes, replaced by Robbie Robinson. He played a total of 114 minutes and was directly involved in four of the six goals that the Florida outfit put away during the group stage.
Their round of 32 match-up was no exception. The Argentine opened the scoring after just 7 minutes, and then added the third after 72 minutes, in the win over **Orlando City SC**. Having taken his tally to five goals in just three matches, Messi now finds himself second in the overall scoring charts at Leagues Cup 2023.
Messi’s performances during the competition
Before the start of the tournament, Inter Miami CF had been going through a rough patch of form. They were rock bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference, having won only 5 of their 22 games. Messi’s arrival has seen a complete turnaround in form, though: three games, three wins. His influence on the team’s attack is clear, and he made an instant impact as soon as he came on for his first appearance in the pink shirt.
The match against Cruz Azul had entered the 94th minute. With virtually the last kick of the game, Messi would score the winner with a fantastic free-kick, sealing the 2-1 win for his team. Not only did he clinch the three points for his team, but he also once again showed how devastatingly effective he can be from set-pieces.
His second game, this time as a starter, saw him fine-tune his understanding with his new teammates. This is particularly on show in his impressive partnership with Robert Taylor, which teams at this Leagues Cup 2023 have found hard to contain.
Leo would open the scoring within eight minutes, after coming out on top in his one-on-one with Brad Guzan. He doubled the team’s lead on 22 minutes, after an assist from Taylor. Mess returned the favour at the 53-minute mark, when he assisted the Finnish forward to make it 4-0, which would be the final score in the end.
In the third match-up, now in the Round of 32, the Argentine played the entire 90 minutes for the first time in the tournament. He scored two goals and even let Josef Martínez take a penalty, which the Venezuelan forward converted for Inter Miami’s second of the game.
Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the key players that can make a difference during the knockout stages at Leagues Cup 2023. For Inter Miami, simply being able to field the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has had a transformative impact on their results, and they’ll be looking to continue their winning streak to go as far as possible in the tournament.
Will they be able to carry on in that vein, and win the club’s first-ever trophy?
