Inter Miami CF draws 1-1 against Los Angeles Galaxy
Lionel Messi scored in extra-time, leveling the score for Inter Miami CF at 1-1, disrupting LA Galaxy's opening night.
Photo: IMCF
Marnery St Fort, editor
February 26, 2024
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Inter Miami CF (1W-0L-1D, 4 points) locked in a 1-1 draw in the additional time for their first away game of the regular season to disrupt the opening night of the Los Angeles Galaxy (0W-0L-1D, 1 point) on Sunday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in California.
In front of a sell-out crowd with notable celebrities such as Halle Berry, Novak Djokovic, and others, the early minutes of the first half saw high-intensity actions.
Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender showcased his remarkable skills, thwarting multiple scoring attempts by the hosts, including a penalty save from midfielder Riqui Puig in the 13th minute and another denial in the 29th minute.
Despite LA dominating the first half with numerous occasions to score, both teams concluded the first half with scoreless.
In the 69th minute, Miami missed an opportunity when a Lionel Messi free-kick deflected off the wall to Diego Gómez in front of the goal but was denied by John McCarthy, who dove to stop it.
In the 75th minute, the LA forward Dejan Jovejlic breached Miami's defense on the pass from Mark Delgado to open the score at 1-0.
Unfortunately, Delgado, who had a yellow card in the 46 minutes for poor sportsmanship, received a second in the 87 minutes, fouling Sergio Busquets.
Within 2 minutes in additional time, Messi of Miami picked up a loose ball and played a series of one-two passes with Jordi Alba before sliding and hitting a left-footed shot into the top of the net for his first goal and granted Alba his first assist of the season.
With the clock ticking down, the two teams failed to convert and split at 1-1.
“I think that in the second half, we played better," said head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino. "we had chances, our opponents scored on the counterattack, but we had the personality to continue searching, and we responded well to the tie.”
Inter Miami will host state rival Orlando City SC at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, Mar. 2, at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Los Angeles Galaxy will play San Jose at the PayPal Park at 10:30 p.m. local time.
Drake Callender, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi, Riqui Puig, Dejan Jovejlic, Sports MLS