Watch Lionel Messi Score Stunning Free-Kick Goal On Inter Miami Debut
Cruz Azul 1-2 Inter Miami
Lionel Messi scored a brilliant last-minute winner on his Inter Miami debut.
Messi found the net direct from a free-kick in the 94th minute to secure a 2-1 victory over Mexican side Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup.
Inter had last won a game of soccer back in May but their 11-game winless streak was halted in dramatic style.
Messi's stunning late finish - which came from a free-kick that he had earned himself - followed earlier goals from Robert Taylor and Uriel Antuna in Fort Lauderdale.
Lionel Messi pictured moments before he scored his first goal for Inter Miami from a 94th-minute free-kick against Cruz Azul
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Despite Inter's woeful run of form going into Friday's game, DRV PNK Stadium was filled with optimism and excitement before kickoff.
Hope turned to belief when Taylor fired the MLS side 1-0 up with a fine strike just before half-time.
That goal was celebrated loudly by a capacity crowd that included the likes of LeBron James, Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian.
But the volume level went even higher in the 54th minute when Messi and his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets entered the action as substitutes.
Messi was immediately handed the captain's armband.
Messi pictured wearing the captain's armband on his Inter Miami debut
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His introduction noticeably added a new dimension to Inter's attack and he saw plenty of the ball.
But defensively, Inter were still vulnerable and looked very much like a side that had gone 20 games without a clean sheet.
Cruz Azul tied the match in the 65th minute when Antuna hammered home a powerful shot under keeper Drake Callender, who was otherwise outstanding and made seven saves.
Miami could easily have crumbled after conceding the equalizer but that did not happen.
Messi almost claimed his first Miami assist following a brilliant through pass but Josef Martinez's touch when rounding the Cruz Azul keeper was marginally too heavy.
The new skipper then had a soft penalty claim turned down and a dangerous shot blocked before again going close to registering an assist. This time Martinez did put the ball in the net following a pass from Messi but only after the World Cup winner had strayed offside.
But Messi was not to be denied his magic moment. It arrived with just seconds left on the clock when he arrowed a devastating shot into the top corner from 25 yards.
