Lionel Messi scored in his third straight game and had his second consecutive multi-goal performance for Inter Miami after the start of the Leagues Cup contest against Orlando City on Wednesday night was delayed 95 minutes because of thunderstorms.
Messi scored seven minutes into the match and further added a second strike in the 72nd minute.
For the first, he stopped a pass from Robert Taylor on his chest, dribbled a couple of yards near the edge of the six-yard box and converted a shot that landed under the crossbar.
The goal gave Inter Miami a 1-0 lead in the Round of 32 match. Orlando pulled level 11 minutes later.
Messi struck again when he received a centering pass from Josef Martinez and converted a right-footed shot that landed inside the left post and put Inter Miami ahead 3-1.
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Inter Miami also had a scare early in the second half when Orlando’s Mauricio Pereyra collided with Messi. Messi remained on the ground, holding his jaw for a couple of minutes.
Messi received his first yellow card with Inter Miami, when he was cited for a hard foul in the 21st minute.
The game, scheduled to start at 8 p.m., didn’t begin on time because of the storms. Messi and his teammates appeared on the pitch for warm-ups 45 minutes before the scheduled start. The heavy rain began approximately 20 minutes later.
After stadium crew drained water puddles around the midfield area, the team re-appeared for a second round of pre-game warm-ups.
Messi has not dealt with inclement weather in his first two Leagues Cup matches since joining the MLS club. He scored the game-winning goal against Cruz Azul and added two goals in a victory over Atlanta United.
Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba also made his Inter Miami debut.
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