Lionel Messi scored twice, including a stunning late winner, to give Inter Miami a 3–2 victory over Colorado Rapids in front of more than 75,000 fans in Denver on Saturday.
The match was moved to the NFL’s Empower Field at Mile High to meet huge demand to see the Argentine star. Inter Miami raced into a 2–0 lead but Colorado fought back strongly to level before Messi decided the game in the closing stages.
Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Josh Atencio fouled Yannick Bright in the box as Colorado tried to play out from the back under Miami’s press. After a lengthy VAR check, Messi calmly rolled his kick down the middle while the goalkeeper dived to his left.
Just before half time, the Rapids lost the ball again in their own half. Messi flicked a pass that allowed Mateo Silvetti to send in a cross for German Berterame to head home from close range and make it 2–0 to Miami.
Colorado responded after the break. Around the hour mark, Rafael Navarro picked up the ball just inside his own half, drove through the centre, beat a defender with a neat feint and finished low into the bottom right corner to pull one back.
Coach Matt Wells then brought on Darren Yapi for Hamzat Ojediran to add more attacking threat. The change paid off quickly when Lucas Herrington sent a precise ball over the top for Yapi, whose diagonal run put him clear to score the equaliser just minutes after Navarro’s goal.
With the game tilted towards Colorado, Messi produced the decisive moment. He sprinted onto a through ball from Rodrigo De Paul down the right, dribbled into the box and somehow threaded a left foot shot between three defenders and past the goalkeeper into the corner for the 3–2 winner.
It was a perfect start for new Inter Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos, a longtime friend of Messi, who was taking charge for the first time after Javier Mascherano left the club earlier in the week for personal reasons, only four months after delivering Miami’s first MLS Cup title. Hoyos made few changes, the most notable being Berterame replacing the injured Tadeo Allende.
Hoyos praised Messi after the game, saying Miami are fortunate to have the greatest player in history who can completely change the momentum of matches. He added that the win continues the work already done by the reigning MLS champions and shows they remain a solid and energetic team.
The night ended on a sour note for Colorado when Yannick Bright was sent off late on for using abusive language while protesting a yellow card shown to teammate Telasco Segovia.
The win lifts Inter Miami up to second in the Eastern Conference and extends the buzz around the club, which has now twice had to move games to larger stadiums to meet demand to watch Messi.
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