Lionel Messi has come under fire.
Inter Miami beat Real Salt Lake 2-0 in the opening game of the 2024 U.S. Major League Soccer MLS Eastern Conference at DRV PNK Stadium in Miami at 10 a.m. on the 22nd.
All four Barcelona players are on the starting lineup. Luis Suarez, Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are on the starting lineup. Inter Miami won easily. After receiving Messi’s space pass in the 39th minute of the first half, Robert Taylor shot after penetration to score the first goal.
He added one more goal. In the 38th minute of the second half, Messi drove a ball near the half-line and attempted to dribble. He connected to Suarez inside the penalty box, and the ball was immediately delivered to Diego Gomes, who was rushing. Gomes wasted no time in shooting and shook the net. In the end, the game ended with Inter Miami winning 2-0.
Messi made a significant contribution in the process of one assist and second goal on the day, and played full time, recording four shots two effective shots, four dribbling attempts two successful, one critical opportunity miss, and five key passes. “Sophar Score,” a soccer statistics media outlet, gave Messi a 7.8 point rating, making him the third highest in his team.
Despite his triumphant win at the opening match, however, Messi failed to avoid criticism from fans. Right before the end of the first half, Messi fired a shot inside the opponent’s penalty box, which bothered fans. While Messi’s opponent’s defense was lying down just before he fired, Messi matched the body of the fallen player and connected the ball with a shot.
Fans were furious. The Sun reported that one fan said, “I just saw the most rude soccer video,” while another fan said, “Messi is uncivilized about such things.”
Meanwhile, Messi once suffered a setback due to the “Hong Kong no-show” incident. Inter Miami played a friendly match against the Hong Kong All-Star team on the 4th, but Messi did not play. As Messi played in the match against Bissel Kobe on the 7th, fans in Hong Kong became even more enraged.
Messi himself made an apology for this. “After playing in the first match against Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, I developed inflammation of my adductor muscle. It worsened after the second match against Al-Nasr. I tried hard for everyone who came to see the training the day before the match against Hong Kong. I did everything I could. I went to a soccer clinic for my children. But I couldn’t play the game. There was also a risk that my injury could worsen,” Messi said in a Chinese newspaper Weibo. 안전 토토사이트
Meanwhile, Argentina’s tour to China, which was scheduled in March due to Messi’s “no-show in Hong Kong,” was canceled. Argentina was scheduled to play A-match games in March in El Salvador, Nigeria, and China, but eventually changed its tour schedule to the U.S. due to “anti-Messi sentiment.”