MIA 2-1 CAZ, Leagues Cup HIGHLIGHTS: Messi free kick goal seals win for Inter Miami

Messi to take the free kick. WHAT A GOAL!!! THE MAN DOES IT FROM THE FREE KICK! WHAT A MOMENT! Slotted it to the top left corner to give his new side the lead in the dying minutes. He runs towards his family to celebrate

Free kick for Inter Miami at the edge of the box as Messi is fouled. He holds his face and is down in pain. But gets back on his feet quickly

Duenas is shown the yellow card of this match after he pulls back a Miami player to prevent a fast break

Messi moves near the box, puts in a short pass towards Martinez, who is caught offiside inside the box

CLUTCH! Callender stops a powerful shot from outside the box by Tabo

CHANCE! Costano gets the ball in the middle and immediately passes it to Messi inside the box. He tries to find an opening but is marked to perfection as the ball goes out for a corner. Nothing comes from it

A lofted ball comes inside the box, with messi running towards it. But the Argentine collides Escobar and the attack ends there

We are into the final 10 minutes of the game with both sides scoring one apiece. Inter has played much better since Messi’s introduction but can they do it?

Corner for Cruz Azul. A searching cross comes inside the box but it is cleared away rather easily

CHANCE! Messi inititates the attack yet again. Plays a through ball inside the box towards Martinez. Who makes Gudino come near him and tries a cross but it gets cleared

Messi’s impact can be clearly noticed, with the way that Inter players are moving. Everyone is looking to feed it to Messi and you can understand why. This time, Messi from the middle, puts in an inch perfect through ball towards Martinez but the forward fails to capitalise

ANTUNA LEVELS IT FOR CRUZ AZUL! The ball came inside the box, with plenty of space inside, Antuna turns and lets out a powerful shot, which is too good for Callendar, who got his fingers to it but wasn’t able to stop it

Inter Miami is playing much better this half. Allen with a wonderful lofted long ball towards Robinson on the left. The latter’s first touch is on point, as he decieves a defender and tries to finish but the shot is saved

Free kick for Inter Miami. Messi will take it, Setpiece situation. He floats one inside the box towards fellow substitute Martinez, who tries to finish but sees it saved by Gudino

Antuna breaks free and advances towards the final third. Crosses it to Moises inside the box, he lets out a weak shot, Callendar saves it quite easily

The Argentine gets his first touch of the night. He is also sporting the captain’s armband!

THE MOMENT WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! MESSI COMES IN! Sergio Busquets also gets his debut

OUT: Cremaschi IN: Messi; OUT: Ruiz IN: Busquets; OUT: Campana IN: Martinez

Looks like Messi’s debut is coming up sooner than anticipated as he is all set to be substituted in. The crowd erupts

Superb dribble from Allen on the left as he skips past three defenders, including one who attempted a slide tackle. He tries to cross it in but there’s no one to recieve it

Free kick for Inter Miami as Ruiz is fouled

Campana starts the proceedings as second half gets underway. The stadium is going crazy as Messi starts to warmup on the sidelines. Debut on the horizon

The scoreline doesn’t do justice for the way that the first 45 minutes went. Inter Miami was far from its best but an individual moment of brilliance from Taylor gave it the much needed breakthrough. Cruz Azul has only itself to blame for its frontline’s inablility to finish after creating constant chances. A crucial second half awaits

Wonderful man marking from Miller. Moises tried to create an opening inside the box but Miller marked him to perfection and forced the ball out of play

Five added minutes

TAYLOR!! JUST AS WE SPEAK ROBERT TAYLOR GIVES THE BREAKTHROUGH! Brilliant low-kept finish from the edge of the box and he gets approval from Messi as the Argentine gives a standing ovation

Both teams taking it slow as half time approaches. ‘Tata’ Martino might have a strong word with his players, for the way that Inter Miami has played so far

Arroyo gets yellow card for his mistimed tackle on Rodriguez

Rontondi looks to break free yet again, on the left flank. He tries to finissh from an awkward angle but the ball takes a deflection off a defender and is out for a corner. Nothing comes off it

Free kick for Inter Miami. Substitute Allen feeds it inside the box, Campana heads it but it’s a weak one as Gudino makes no mistake and saves it

OUT: Huescas IN: Juan Escobar

OUT: Ian Fray, IN: Noah Allen

Fray is down and in visible pain. Looks like he’s pulled his hamstring. The 20-year-old had already torn his ACL once before and wouldn’t want yet another injury to hamper his career. But looks like that is exactly what’s happening. He doesn’t want the stretcher and is helped off the pitch by the medical team. He leaves in tears

CHANCE! Robinson gets the ball inside the box, shoots but Gudino does well to stop the shot. Cremaschi tries to finish on the rebound but fails to gain control of the ball

Corner for Cruz Azul. Rotondi serves it into the box but it is cleared pretty easily

Rotondi’s foul on Fray leads to a Inter free kick on the left. They decide to continue with short passes but fail big time as they concede the ball yet again

Superb long ball from Rivera as he swtiches the line of play from right to left. Rodriguez gets the ball and heads towards the final third to find Moises inside the box. The latter tries to shoot but Inter Miami defenders converge onto him to clear the ball away

A wasted setpiece situation as the delivery ends up being mediocre, that Campana heads wide

Free kick for Cruz Azul as Moises pushes Antuna down. Short passes lead to Cruz counter attack as Moises races towards the box and crosses it to Rodriguez, who shoots but the shot is deflected. Corner for Cruz Azul

ANOTHER CHANCE GOES BEGGING! Rivero from the center skips past a defender and dishes out a through ball. Cambindo gets the ball inside the box, tries to finish but shoots it wide!

CHANCE! Rotondi wreaks havoc on the left lane as he dribbles past a couple of defenders and tries a right-footed curler that crashes on to the crossbar!

Campana breaks the final line of defense as the ball follows him. His first touch is wonderful but he fails to finish as the ball goes directly to Gudiono’s hands

Cruz Azul continues to press but is not finding an opening. Inter Miami, meanwhile, is making quite a few mistakes, conceding possession often

Another threatening attack from Cruz Azul. Rotondi from the middle, finds Moises at the edge of the box. The latter then shoots a similar shot as Rivero but another timely dive from Callendar keeps him at bay!

Wonderful transition from Cruz Azul, from their own half, they switched offence with a couple of deft passes. And within moments, Rivero gets the ball at the edge of the box and tries his luck with a shot directed towards the lower left corner but Callendar dives to save it

Rontondi gets the ball on the left and sprints to the final third, puts in a cross but a superb sliding interception from Miller keeps the ball away. But before anything happens, Rotondi is caught offside on the buildup

Inter Miami starts from left to right as Robinson gets the ball rolling

The players have taken the field and a team huddle takes place in the middle. Meanwhile, LeBron James is in the stands and the first thing that Messi does is to go towards him for a hug. Game recognises game!

The DRV PNK is absolutely buzzing and understandably so. Arguably the world’s best player, Messi, will be in action for the first time ever alongside former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets. Inter Miami, although not in a good spot, performance wise, will fancy its chances with Messi’s addition.

Inter Miami: L-L-D

Cruz Azul: L-L-L

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Inter Miami: Callender; Yedlin, Kryvtsov, Miller, Allen; Taylor, Cremaschi, Arroyo, Robinson; Campana, Martinez

Cruz Azul: Gudino; Huescas, Ditta, Salcedo, Rivero; Lira, Rodriguez; Antuna, Rotondi, Moises; Cambindo

*Messi is not expected to make the starting lineup but will come in as a substitute

When does the League Cup clash between Cruz Azul and Inter Miami start?

The League Cup clash between Cruz Azul and Inter Miami will start at 5:30am IST at the DRV PNK stadium in Florida.

Where can I watch League Cup clash between Cruz Azul and Inter Miami?

The League Cup clash between Cruz Azul and Inter Miami will be available to stream on Apple TV+ on subscription basis. The match will not be telecast in India.