Lionel Messi lights up football world in 'unfair' display for Inter Miami

The football world had to wait 94 minutes for Lionel Messi to score in his debut for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, but on Tuesday he found the back of the net twice in 22 minutes. Making his first start after coming off the bench in his MLS debut on Sunday, the Argentinian superstar got his name on the scoresheet twice as Miami beat Atlanta United 4-0 in the Leagues Cup.

In the eighth minute, Messi took a pass from former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, surged forward and sent a strike off the right post. He followed it up before tapping in the rebound for his second goal in two matches.

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In the 22nd minute, he put Miami ahead 2-0 off a pass from Robert Taylor. The World Cup winner has struck up a fruitful understanding with Finnish winger Taylor, who helped himself to Miami's other two goals.

Miami made it 3-0 just before half-time when Messi fed Benjamin Cremaschi, who cleverly flicked the ball to Taylor who defied the tight angle with a fierce blast. It marked the first time Inter Miami have ever held a three-goal lead at half-time.

Eight minutes after the break, Atlanta were caught on the break when a corner was cleared to Messi, who ran from deep in his own half before feeding Taylor to his left who drilled in a low shot off the inside of the far post. Busquets and Messi were brought off in the second, with the latter substituted in the 78th minute.

Miami are bottom of the MLS standings and hadn't won for 11 league games prior to Messi's arrival. However the team looks completely transformed by his impact and that of Busquets.

"Their arrival has given the players a lot of confidence," said Martino, who coached the pair 10 years ago at Barcelona. "The players feel more supported, they feel that the responsibility is carried by the great players and so they feel more liberated to play."

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Martino said Messi's World Cup triumph last season has given him a new lease of life. "He has taken a huge weight off his shoulders with the Argentine national team. You can see it in everything, in his day-to-day life, in his statements, in the way he approaches the games. Leo is liberated and we can expect more of this type of performance," he said.

Atlanta were crowned MLS champions in 2018 under Martino. But current boss Gonzalo Pineda said they had been outclassed by Messi and Miami.

"They were the better team...at key moments they did not forgive," he said. "Against players like Messi you can't make mistakes and we made them in the first, second and fourth goals."

Taylor said of Messi: "Every time Leo has the ball we have a few players running in behind and that creates loads of space for everyone else. I mean, he's the best player in the world. This is what he does – he scores two goals, he scored last game, gets another assist. It's a dream come true to play with him."

with agencies

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