RED BULL ARENA: Lionel Messi came off the bench to score as Inter Miami opened their Major League Soccer playoff push with a 2-0 victory at the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
After a week in which Miami won the League Cup and reached the final of the US Open Cup, Messi was left on the bench by coach Gerard “Tata” Martino, but entered the game on the hour mark.
The Argentine World Cup winner saw limited involvement after coming on for former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets, but made his regular debut with an 89th-minute goal.
Jordi Alba acrobatically hooked the ball into the box for Messi, who twisted and turned before sliding a sublime pass through the outside of Benjamin Cremaschi’s leg, whose low cross was tapped in first time by the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Messi has now scored 11 goals in nine games in all competitions since joining Inter Miami.
“He’s unbelievable, every day it’s something new, on and off the field,” Miami linebacker Noah Allen, 19, said.
“He’s an amazing person to play with and I’m so blessed to play with him.
Martino indicated that several of his players needed a break after an intense eight-game run during the month and kept his word with his team selection, to the disappointment of a capacity crowd at Red Bull Arena.
Makeshift Miami took the lead in the 37th minute when Noah Allen crossed from the left and Paraguayan Diego Gomez was given time to turn and then fired in with his left foot.
Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender had to make a number of saves to keep his team in the lead, but with Red Bull’s pressure mounting, Martino decided to bring on his star man and the momentum of the game inevitably shifted.
The win lifts Miami off the bottom of the Eastern Conference and cuts its lead over the final playoff spot to 11 points with 11 games remaining.
Eastern Conference leaders Cincinnati bounced back from a US Open Cup last-four loss to Miami with a 3-0 victory over New York on Wednesday.
Aaron Boupendza gave the Ohio side the nod in the 6th minute and Junior Moreno doubled the lead in the 52nd minute with a side-footed finish at the end of a quick counter-attack.
Nick Hagglund’s 59th-minute header wrapped up the win for Cincinnati, which remains 11 points ahead of second-placed Philadelphia.
Philly enjoyed a 3-1 win at Wayne Rooney’s D.C. Stadium. United with all the goals in the first half thanks to Mikael Uhrem, Jack McGlynn and a penalty from Hungarian international Daniel Gazdag.
The New England Revolution, third in the East, lost 1-0 in Montreal, with George Campbell grabbing the winner in the 86th minute.
Champions Los Angeles FC suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Charlotte with former Burnley midfielders Ashley Westwood and Scott Arfield in target for the North Carolina side.
Westwood opened the scoring with a smart finish at the near post in the 29th minute, before Mario Gonzalez leveled for LAFC in the 67th minute only for Arfield, a recent signing from Scotland’s Rangers, to grab a 75th-minute winner.
It was a surprise day in the Western Conference as leaders St.Louis City fell to a 2-1 defeat at Orlando City and Facundo Torres equalized with a penalty in stoppage time after Anthony Markanich was involved in the box.
