In his second official match,
Lionel Messi
already had his first performance as an
Inter Miami
hero in the new MLS season.
He was the author of the agonizing goal of the 1-1 draw against
the Los Angeles Galaxy
, in a match where the
Herons
did not show their best game.
But the team was not only able to enjoy the star's ability to get a point at the end, but also saw him in his
gladiatorial
role , without mincing words when it came to having a rough confrontation with one of his rivals.
When the match had not yet broken the score, several sparks had already jumped between the Inter Miami players and the American
Edwin Cerillo
, who had the mission of trying to nullify Leo's game as much as possible.
This is how,
34 minutes
into the first half, the player with Mexican roots first had to suffer a clash with the Uruguayan
Luis Suárez
.
With several pushes between both players for protesting a match action, the '10' approached to defend his friend and attacking partner, taking the opportunity to speak to the player who had been tormenting him since the beginning of the match.
Covering his mouth so that the cameras could not capture what he was saying was the way in which Messi headed towards Cerillo to carry out a rough cross.
But far from hiding was the Los Angeles Galaxy player
, who stood up while nodding his head ironically to the words of '10'.
Even for several seconds he was seen face to face exchanging words with the man from Rosario,
both in a defiant tone
.
Then Sergio Busquets
would join
in, with Luis Suárez who did not let the tense moment with the player pass easily, and would help defuse the situation along with other Los Angeles Galaxy players.
Long before his agonizing goal, at PT, Leo Messi experienced this tense moment with Edwin Cerrillo.
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However, once the match was over, the midfielder with a past in Dallas FC managed to be aware of the moment he lived and analyzed it: "First I was surprised that he was talking to me, so the first thing he said to me I didn't understand, nor "It stuck with me.
I was serious and at that moment I knew I needed to stay calm because it was early in the game
."
And he did not hesitate to question Leo about his intention for generating the short circuit.
"He knows what he does and maybe he wanted to get into my head. And like with anyone, he wasn't going to keep me quiet
," he explained.
"When Suárez and Busquets came to defend him... Well, it's nice, but it's part of football and at that moment was when I had to be calm.
What was said is going to stay with me, it's something that I always remember." I'm going to keep it in my mind and I'll keep that ," the
24-year-old
player concluded
.
Messi tried to create play but Cerillo's personal record did not allow him to do so on more than one occasion.
After the crossing, Messi and his pursuer on the field did not look at each other again.
Although the midfielder tried to maintain his personal record against Leo during the 90 minutes, which was effective by not allowing him to gravitate far into the attack zone, it would be during injury time when the star rubbed the lamp once again to leave it incomplete. Cerillo's goal.