Lionel Messi scored and assisted, but Inter Miami still lost 3-4 in a friendly match with Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
Inter Miami started their Asia tour with a friendly match against Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
Lionel Messi started but did not have much room to play in the first half when Al Hilal dominated Inter Miami.
With the cheers of the home crowd, Al Hilal started like a dream when they took a 2-0 lead thanks to Aleksandar Mitrovic (10′) and Abdullah Al Hamdan (13′).
Inter Miami’s highlight was Luis Suarez’s goal to shorten the score to 1-2 in the 34th minute. Initially, the referee thought there was an offside error, but then VAR intervened and determined that defender Al Hilal had given the ball. At the feet of Luis Suarez, the goal was valid.
Immediately after the goal to shorten the score, Lionel Messi put the ball into Al Hilal’s net but the goal was not recognized because Luis Suarez was offside.
Al Hilal returned to their aggressive attacking pace after playing carelessly.Michael headed the ball into Inter Miami’s net to increase the score to 3-1 and had a Siu-style celebration from Cristiano Ronaldo in the 44th minute.
It wasn’t until the second half that the audience witnessed Lionel Messi shine as he continuously scored and assisted.
Lionel Messi successfully took the penalty, shortening the score to 2-3 for Inter Miami in the 54th minute.
Just 1 minute later, Lionel Messi assisted David Ruiz to equalize 3-3 against Al Hilal.
Previously, David Ruiz was the one who earned the penalty in Lionel Messi’s goal.
Al Hilal played poorly in the second half, but Inter Miami could not advance after quickly equalizing.
Lionel Messi left the field in the 88th minute and Inter Miami conceded a goal immediately after the substitution.
Al Hilal sealed a 4-3 victory over Inter Miami thanks to Malcom’s precise header.
