Lionel Messi scores historic goal, but Inter Miami misses out on victory

In a regular season match of Major League Soccer (MLS), Inter Miami hosted San Diego at home. The intense and hard-fought encounter ended in a 2-2 draw. In this match, legendary forward Lionel Messi, playing for the Miami club, celebrated his 101st goal for the team. This result once again confirmed how important the Argentine footballer is to the club's history, but the team's defensive issues are worrying the head coach and fans. This is reported by Goal.com reports .

According to information from ESPN, the match did not start well for the hosts. In the opening minutes of the game, Anders Dreyer found the back of the net, putting San Diego in the lead. Following that, the Inter Miami stars stepped up their efforts to change the situation. Just before the end of the first half, Lionel Messi capitalized on a set-piece, equalizing the score with a trademark beautiful free-kick.

This goal was Lionel Messi's 20th league goal of the current season. It also went down in history as his eighth goal from a free-kick since moving to the US championship in 2023. As a reminder, just a few days before this game, the Argentine forward managed to score his 100th milestone goal for the club in the Campeones Cup match against Cruz Azul.

Midfield dominance and defensive errors

In the second half, the hosts intensified their attacks. As a result, in the 74th minute, experienced striker Luis Suárez scored, putting Inter Miami ahead. This goal was expected to bring the team victory, as the dominance and experience on the pitch were with the Miami side. However, as the match neared its end, defensive blunders proved costly once again.

With little time left, Anders Dreyer stepped up again, scoring a brace to level the score. Consequently, Inter Miami failed to secure the win in the Florida clash and had to settle for a single point. This result marked the team's fourth consecutive draw in the MLS and complicated their standing in the Eastern Conference table.

This game was the first championship test for Kily González, who has taken over as Inter Miami's head coach. However, his debut did not start with the expected victory. The team currently sits third in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing leaders Nashville by 11 points. Despite the brilliant attacking play from Messi and Suárez, defensive shortcomings are costing the team dearly.

Head coach's criticism and tasks ahead

In the post-match press conference, head coach Kily González did not hide his strong dissatisfaction with his players' defensive performance. In his view, the team lost the victory due to a lack of concentration in the final minutes and only avoided defeat thanks to the goalkeeper's saves.

"We have been working here for four days and haven't had time to train properly. We must be much more compact in defense. Such terrible mistakes cannot be allowed because they are very costly. The final situation should not have happened at all. It is absurd to be winning and almost lose the game. We only escaped defeat because of our goalkeeper," ESPN quotes González as saying. The coach also hinted that the team's recent successes might have caused the players to lose some focus.