Lionel Messi is well placed to recognise footballing excellence and he was visibly left stunned after Houston Dynamo's first goal of their 2-1 win over Inter Miami.
The Argentine superstar could only watch on from the stands after a troublesome muscular fatigue issue ruled him out of the US Open Cup final. The showpiece would end in heartbreak for the Herons as they struggled to repeat their Leagues Cup heroics from earlier in the campaign.
Still, it appeared that the Vice City captain took the defeat with good grace and his amazement was written all over his face after Houston's first goal of the night. Houston winger Griffin Dorsey opened the scoring for the Texans with a sumptuous effort from the edge of the box.
After being slipped into space with a deft pass from teammate Artur, the onrushing wide player lashed the ball home past Miami's flailing goalkeeper. With the ball crashing into the roof of the net, injured absentee Messi looked on suitably impressed.
As the camera panned to the 36-year-old in the stands, his amazement was obvious as he took a sharp intake of breath. From there, his teammates would then go on to concede again less than ten minutes later, as Amine Bassi dispatched a penalty to double the visitors' lead.
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In truth, it was a poor day at the office for Miami as they struggled to lay a glove on their opponents in a listless display. A consolation goal from Josef Martinez in injury time was not enough to rouse a comeback and Houston eventually lifted the trophy.
At full-time, Messi looked visibly dejected after being denied a second winners' medal of his fledgling career with his new employers. As the camera panned to him once more, his devastation was obvious - as was the disappointment of team co-owner David Beckham.
Griffin Dorsey of Houston Dynamo scored a wondergoal in the first half versus Inter Miami (Getty Images)Reflecting on the costly defeat at the final hurdle at DRV PNK Stadium, Miami head coach Gerardo Martino defended the decision to rest his captain amid his fitness woes. He said: 'It wasn't prudent for him to play, not even to consider him for a few minutes.
"We will go match-by-match and see where the medical department can give us the okay". Speaking of his team's fatigue more generally, he added: "I saw a worn team, the consequence of so many matches.
"If this match went into extra time, the match Inter Miami has on Saturday would have to be played by the technical staff. At some point we were going to see the consequences of so many games, we began to feel them on the side of the injuries and on the performance side."
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