FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — With just seconds left on the clock and the pressure of a looming penalty shootout mounting, Lionel Messi once again proved why he remains the heartbeat of Inter Miami. In front of a roaring home crowd, the Argentine icon threaded a perfect pass to Marcelo Weigandt, who buried the stoppage-time winner to lift Inter Miami to a dramatic 2-1 victory over Liga MX’s Atlas in their Leagues Cup opener.
Messi, making his return after serving a suspension for missing the MLS All-Star Game, was the catalyst behind both of Miami’s goals. In the 58th minute, he capitalized on a chaotic sequence in the box by directing a pass from Sergio Busquets to Telasco Segovia, who calmly slotted it home to open the scoring.
Atlas responded in the 80th minute with a goal from Rivaldo Lozano, appearing to send the match toward penalties. But Inter Miami weren’t done. In the dying moments of stoppage time, Messi received a pass from Luis Suárez and dished it to Weigandt, who drilled home the winner. While the goal was initially flagged for offside, VAR confirmed the play, and the stadium erupted once again.
Off the field, Messi’s emotions ran high. After the goal was confirmed, he hugged Suárez and newly-arrived teammate Rodrigo De Paul before confronting Atlas’ Matías Cóccaro after what had been a chippy encounter all night. Early in the match, Messi took a gut-check from Atlas’ Sergio Hernández, setting a fiery tone that would persist throughout.
The win made Inter Miami the first MLS side to defeat a Liga MX club in regulation during this year’s Leagues Cup group stage, snapping a rough start for American teams against their Mexican counterparts. “Yesterday, none of the American teams won,” Messi noted postgame. “So for us, winning today was important to gain an advantage.”
De Paul, making his Inter Miami debut fresh off international clearance, slotted in seamlessly without even training, highlighting the squad’s growing chemistry. “Winning at the last minute adds spice,” he reflected after the match.
For Messi, the night was a reminder that Inter Miami intends to be a serious contender in this tournament.
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