Lionel Messi made his dream debut when he scored the winning goal for Inter Miami over Cruz Azul in the first leg of the Leagues Cup.

Excited cheers from the audience filled the DRV PNK stadium when coach Gerardo Martino threw Lionel Messi into the field at the beginning of the second half. He replaced his compatriot Benjamin Cremaschi. Meanwhile, Sergio Busquets also made his debut from the bench.

Just minutes later, Messi made his first impression when he took a free-kick right in front of the penalty area. While everyone thought he would shoot straight, La Pulga created a dangerous situation that Josef Martinez could not successfully finish.

After Uriel Antuna’s 1-1 equalizer for Cruz Azul, Messi received the ball in the middle of the field, turned around and provided a delicate assist but DeAndre Yedlin missed.

With just 15 minutes remaining on the clock, Messi showed his vision to deliver a brilliant assist to Martinez, who, despite dribbling past goalkeeper Andres Gudino, could not find the net.

The fans’ wait was rewarded when Messi closed the match in a special way, true to his extraordinary level. He was fouled in front of the box in stoppage time and scored a free-kick that sent the ball into the top corner of the goal, blowing up the DRV PNK stadium.

After 36 days without playing, with his last appearance being in Argentina’s friendly against Australia, it did not take long for Messi to regain his pace.

In 2023, Messi has made 27 appearances for PSG, Inter Miami and friendly matches with Argentina, scoring 16 goals. He officially hit 700 penalty-free goals in his career, both at club and national level.