Lionel Messi has 2 assists as Inter Miami beats LAFC – Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami did it again, overshadowing the defending MLS champions by beating the Los Angeles Football Club, 3-1, on Sunday night at BMO Stadium.

Miami’s 11th game without a loss since Messi joined a revamped roster in July delivered another statement to MLS teams on Sunday: Good luck stopping the reigning Argentinian World Cup champion and his new teammates.

Messi did not score for the 12th time with Miami, but he added a pair of assists to give him eight in all competitions since his summer arrival.

Miami relied on two Argentine newcomers who went unmentioned in the hype preceding the match to take the lead in the 14th minute.

In Messi-like fashion, defender Tomas Aviles, 19, struck a rolling, curling pass from midfield for his first assist in MLS, which reached midfielder Facundo Farias, 21, in the LAFC box.

Farias slid to the ground and hit a low shot past an outstretched John McCarthy that clipped the inside of the far post for his first MLS goal.

The finish undercut a strong opening 15 minutes for LAFC in which it pushed and pressed Miami (7-14-4, 25 points) around the field as a volley of opportunities came and went for the Black & Gold.

A tremendous save in the 11th minute by Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender on LAFC’s leading goal scorer, Denis Bouanga, who ran onto a long pass from defender Giorgio Chiellini and smashed a shot with his right foot “was massive for us,” Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said.

“That gave us a lot of confidence,” he added, “and us being able to score on our first or second chance calmed down the crowd a little bit.”

Three minutes later Bouanga did not deliver on another clear chance when Mario Gonzalez set him up in front of Callender. The Frenchman stuck his foot in the ground and duffed the shot.

Messi’s best chance of the half came in the 38th minute, when a string of passes freed the Argentine in front of McCarthy. However, the 2022 MLS Cup MVP, who owned the starting position for LAFC as Maxime Crepeau recovered from a badly broken leg, denied the shot with his left hand.

“He got past one of our guys, I saw him about to pull the trigger and made myself as big as possible,” said McCarthy, who made three saves in the match and did get Messi’s jersey after the game.

After the break, the man people came to watch, including a who’s who of celebrities, added a goal contribution for the 23rd time in his last 26 road matches when he coolly fed defender Jordi Alba in the 51st minute.

Messi received the ball, turned to survey the field, waited for his teammates to get into the play, and slid a simple pass toward Alba as the Spanish defender snuck behind fullback Sergi Palencia.

Like the 22,921 people in the stands (a BMO Stadium record for soccer), with Messi’s pink Miami jersey prevalent except in the North End supporter section, Palencia was caught eyeing the most famous No. 10 in soccer.

“The second and third goals were pretty soft and poor defensive errors from us,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “That can’t happen to a team with our ambitions.”

Miami’s final finish came on Messi’s second assist of the night, when he gobbled up the ball at midfield as Aaron Long miscontrolled it with his chest. The 36-year-old attacker charged toward the LAFC net, twisting midfielder Timothy Tillman around before feeding forward Leo Campana for an easy finish.

“We’ve had many complex matches and I think because of the quality of the opponent this has been the most challenging of all, and the one that we performed the best within 90 minutes,” Martino said. “Other games, we’ve had good games and have had challenges, but I think L.A. is a very good side.”

LAFC’s lack of touch around the goal, however, sabotaged them once again following last weekend’s listless 2-1 defeat in Charlotte.

Six of LAFC’s 22 shots hit the target compared to a clinical and economical Miami, which placed six of its nine shots on frame. LAFC also took 10 corner kicks to Miami’s two.

“The game shaped up exactly as we expected,” Cherundolo said. “And we created a plethora of chances and just weren’t effective tonight and that was the difference in the game. If you look at the statistics that would back up that statement.”

“Being effective is something that Miami did well and we didn’t.”

In the 90th minute, a Ryan Hollingshead header, courtesy of a Carlos Vela corner kick, prevented a shutout loss.

Vela, like the opposing No. 10, played 90 minutes, but unlike Messi, he appeared frustrated with missed chances and failed connections.

The Mexican star was one of four LAFC players who had played against Messi prior to Sunday. The 34-year-old LAFC captain joined Chiellini, Bouanga and Ecuadorian defender Diego Palacios, who was introduced into the game in the second half after missing time due to a personal absence.

They are now a combined 5-19-6 against the greatest player of their generation – arguably the best of all time.

LAFC (11-8-7, 40 points) fell on its home field for the first time in five matches – having outscored opponents 18-1 over that stretch – and in doing so failed to gain ground on St. Louis City (15-10-2, 47 points) in the race for the top playoff seed in the Western Conference.

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