A year after his storybook Inter Miami debut in the inaugural Leagues Cup, Lionel Messi was unable to play Saturday night as his teammates began defense of their trophy with a 2-0 home win against Mexican team Puebla in the 2024 tournament opener.
Messi, who injured an ankle ligament while playing for Argentina in the Copa America final two weeks ago, remained in a protective walking boot and watched the match from a Chase Stadium suite with his wife. He had already missed 13 of Miami’s 25 league games this season.
The men in pink got off to a good start. Paraguayan midfielder Matias Rojas scored on a left-footed blast in the ninth minute to give Miami an early lead. The assist came from Robert Taylor, who signed a contract extension on Friday. Rookie Yannick Bright got the sequence started with an interception and a pinpoint pass from midfield.
Luis Suarez doubled Miami’s lead at the 72-minute mark. He right-footed a shot from the center of the box off a cross from Jordi Alba. The play began with another interception by Bright at midfield, who passed to Julian Gressel, who sent a diagonal pass to Alba. It was Suarez’s team-leading 13th goal of the season.
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