Inter Miami CF’s substitute Fafà Picault scored in the 89th minute, and Lionel Messi scored his first goal of the MLS regular season in a dramatic 2-1 victory over Atlanta United FC on Sunday.
Miami (3-1-0) won despite six saves from Atlanta’s Brad Guzan, who helped his team defeat Messi’s squad in a best-of-three series in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs last fall. Atlanta shocked the Supporters’ Shield winners by winning the rubber match 3-2 on the road, eliminating Messi and Miami from playoff contention.
Messi scored in the 20th minute of Miami’s second regular-season game on Sunday, after the team had already played eight games due to Concacaf Champions Cup action. The World Cup winner returned to action after missing three games due to muscle fatigue, coming off the bench in a 2-0 victory over Jamaican club Cavalier FC on Thursday night.
“Well, Leo’s goal, he is the best player in the history of this sport, there is nothing more to say,” Miami manager Javier Mascherano said after the game. “He is a player who can score the most beautiful goal you have ever seen.
Fafà’s goal obviously makes us happy for him. We had just returned from three difficult weeks due to his absence. We are very happy.
“He has come to share his experience in this league. But he is been humble, working as part of a team and knowing when to use his abilities. So we are thrilled with him.”
Messi’s start came after Mascherano defended the use of his star player early in the season.
Emmanuel Latte Lath scored his third goal in the 11th minute, giving Atlanta (1-1-2) an early lead. However, his teammates are still on one goal combined, as Atlanta’s winless streak has stretched to three games after defeating Montreal in the season opener.
Both teams had numerous chances for a second-half winner from open play, but the diminutive Picault scored an unlikely header to seal the victory.
Jordi Alba received the ball from a late, short corner kick and delivered an outswinging pass to the back post. Picault outmuscled Ajani Fortune and sent a header that bounced back across goal, wrong-footing Guzan and nestling inside the far left post.
It was Picault’s first goal for his sixth MLS club, Miami, after moving from Vancouver this offseason.
Miguel Almirón began the attack, scoring for Atlanta with an excellent ball over the top to Brooks Lennon on the right. Latte Lath scored a powerful back-post header past Rocco Ríos Novo after receiving an excellent cross from Lennon.
Latte Lath thought he had a second shortly after the quarter-hour mark, but it was ruled offside. Miami drew level on its next move forward.
Guzan slid off his line to disrupt an initial cross from the right, but Messi surprised Bartosz Slisz with rare defensive pressure, dispossessing the midfielder as Atlanta attempted to play out. Messi then weaved past the sliding Derrick Williams and chipped the charging Guzan.
Mascherano expressed his admiration for the MLS as a league, noting that the quality of its players has improved dramatically during his brief tenure as Miami coach.
“I paid a lot of attention to Inter-Miami because the reality is that, like all Argentines, we followed Inter Miami, but I was not paying attention to other teams, which surprised me,” Mascherano told ESPN. “There are many teams that have great ideas and execute them well. I began to meet high-level players in this league who could also play in a European league. In fact, I believe we have some players who I did not pay as much attention to in the past, possibly because we did not know them; however, they have now surprised me.
“This is a league I like. I like how it is organized. I like how everything works. I like that I have to worry about training the team and getting ready for games.”
Atlanta United will play at FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Inter Miami is idle until March 29, when it will host the Philadelphia Union.