The first assist of the MLS season, victory and a half-time hug with Will Smith. This was just another day at the office for Lionel Messi as star-studded Inter Miami successfully defeated Real Salt Lake 2-0 at Chase Stadium to kickstart their 2024 campaign in style.
Messi played like a man possessed all evening. He was so relentless, even his seasoned personal bodyguard Yassine Chueko was short of breath tracking and chasing his movements from the near touchline.
However, the joy of the victory was somewhat tempered by the sight of newcomer Luis Suarez clearly fighting through physical pain, his movements encumbered by the toll of injuries in recent years.
Goals in either half from Robert Taylor and Diego Gomez inflicted the damage for Inter Miami. But even when he fails to find the target, Messi still finds a way to steal the show.
First his mere presence while standing over a 30-yard free-kick saw Real Salt Lake camp two players on their own goal line, enabling Inter Miami attackers to cram the jam-packed box daringly. It also did not stop the World Cup-winning captain from perfectly placing the ball towards the top right hand corner before it was eventually headed off the line by defender Justen Glad.
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Then, the 36-year-old genius sneakily tried to score an 'Olimpico' as he appeared to shoot directly from a corner. Scrambling Salt Lake goalkeeper Zac MacMath was forced to intervene.
David Beckham hugged Luis Suarez before the match. (Getty Images)But the best of all was yet to come. As injured RSL defender Andrew Brody lay lifeless on the turf, Messi dribbled purposefully towards goal before deftly dinking the ball over Brody's head and savagely controlling. It was a moment of pure, natural, unexplainable brilliance. Only Messi could execute such a bizarre, peculiar action so seamlessly and sexily. It was pure magic.
Yet while team-mates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets looked razor sharp while at times, new recruit Luis Suarez proved an uncomfortable watch. His MLS debut was partially marred by his horrifying limp. Unfortunately, the issue is nothing new, though he still had a say after teeing up Inter Miami's second.
Back in July, Gremio agreed to the premature mutual termination of Suarez's contract as he felt he could no longer meet the standards required to play in the Brazilian top-flight. It is plain to see why. While neither Suarez's footballing intelligence, guile or technical quality is yet to diminish - his physical attributes have evidently been hampered by persistent knee pain.
Luis Suarez appeared to be playing through pain for much of the match. (Getty Images)Speaking to Sport 890 Radio in December, the 37-year-old disclosed the secrets behind his agonising personal struggles, claiming the first few steps of every day had become so insufferable, he has to fight back the tears.
Suarez has "cartilage wear that hits the bone" which was sustained following knee surgery at Barcelona. He usually takes multiple pills and injections just to ensure he's available but this barbaric approach to fitness is definitely not sustainable.
You could see the pain etched across Suarez's face every time he was forced to make a sprint and he spent almost the entirety of the match hobbling about the pitch, attempting to playmake for Messi and goalscorer Taylor.
Still, he fought through the pain barrier to help Inter Miami record a precious victory as they go top of the pile following a very credible curtain-raiser that suggests Tata Martino's side will be a force to be reckoned with.
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