On Sunday night, the LA Galaxy pulled off a feat few teams in MLS have been able to: They kept Lionel Messi largely quiet for most of the night.
With the Galaxy looking to be on the way to a season-opening win over Inter Miami CF at Dignity Health Park in Carson, California, Messi popped up in second-half stoppage time to cancel out Dejan Joveljic’s goal for the Galaxy and salvage a 1-1 draw for his team.
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On a night in which LA welcomed back one if its former stars in Miami co-owner David Beckham, the Galaxy were much less hospitable to the South Florida club’s talisman, harrying Messi all over the pitch throughout the game and keeping him off the scoresheet until the game’s dying minutes.
Inter Miami started with its famed quartet of former Barcelona players on the field — Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez and Sergio Busquets alongside Messi — but it was another product of the club’s La Masia academy in Ricard Puig that stole the show in the first half.
Puig, who joined the Galaxy in 2022, was everywhere in the opening 45 minutes, distributing the ball to teammates and forcing a goal-saving shot from Miami keeper Drake Callender as the home side had the better of the first-half chances.
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The 24-year-old Puig also had a 13th minute penalty saved by Callender after Busquets pulled new Galaxy arrival Joseph Paintsil down from behind in the area and the referee awarded the Galaxy a spot kick.
Messi only had 27 touches in the first half — his second-fewest touches in a first half since joining Inter Miami — and the game went into the break tied 0-0.
Paintsil continued to cause problems down the right wing as the second half began, and once again Miami had Callender to thank for keeping his team in the game with a pair of great saves before the 60-minute mark.
Miami’s best chance of the game came in the 69th minute when a Messi free kick bounced off the wall and fell to the feet of Diego Gómez right in front of goal, but another new Galaxy arrival — John McCarthy — made a stellar save to keep the game scoreless.
The Galaxy finally found a deserved goal in the 75th minute when Puig’s shot from the top of the area — at the end of yet another swift counter-attack — was saved to the feet of Mark Delgado, who squared a pass to Joveljic to finish into an open net.
Delgado was sent off minutes later after receiving his second yellow card. Miami took full advantage as Messi picked up a loose ball and played a series of one-two passes with Alba before smashing a left-footed shot into the top of the net for his first goal of the 2024 MLS season.