The atmosphere was imposing. More off the court than inside her. In the end, the definition of criminals puts the missing touch of drama on the turf.
Inter Miami with star Lionel Messi in the lead beat University 5-4 after tying 0-0 in regulation time on Wednesday night at Lima’s Monumental Stadium in front of about 60,000 people, 80 percent of the colossus’s capacity.
It was the second victory of the Miami squad in the era of Javier Mascherano, and also for penalties. Messi left fans, who had paid between $100 and $1,000 to see him face-to-face, perhaps for the last time in Peru.
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The best player in the world was always shown during the 73 minutes he was on the court, intelligently distributed the ball, and was even about to score just started the game.
First, the leg of the captain of the U, Aldo Corzo, stepped in to send the ball to the cart when inside the Messi area he had taken a shot full of possibilities.
Three minutes into the game, the Paraguayan of the U, Williams Riveros, committed a foul to Messi on the edge of the area, in what was a kind of barrier penalty, and the referee took the yellow card from the laggard.
The Miami star fired with a curve next to the barrier at medium height and archer Sebastian Britos diverted the spherical to great salvage.
And then every crack touch was a sign of elegance, precision, and skill.
You couldn’t ask for more in a friendly match where the local squad made 10 changes and the visitors eight.
For Inter Miami, all the executioners were successful in the prisons Julian Gressel, Santiago Morales, David Ruiz, Sebastian Cremaschi, and Yannick Bright.
Diego Churin, Horacio Calcaterra, Jairo Concha, and Jose Rivera scored for the U.S. Jairo Velez failed. The game was attractive and worthy of an exhibition.
At first, the local squad seemed a little bewildered by Inter Miami’s good game and perhaps for all the euphoria that had been unleashed around Messi’s presence.
Sergio Busquets was doing a great job in the middle of the court and the pink in his second preseason game was loose and daring.
Even Luis Suarez scored a head goal in those early instances but was cancelled due to out-of-play.
Little by little, the U.S. was getting into the game. Former Portland Timbers former Timbers led Jordi Alba’s right-hander and a couple of times served Edison Flores, a former DC United, who couldn’t get in the right.
Inter Miami had jumped onto the court with six Argentines: Messi, Federico Redondo, Tadeo Allende, Oscar Ustari, Tomas Aviles, and Marcelo Weigandt.
You can see an assembled set, although there is still no good replacement for Paraguayan Diego Gomez, who emigrated to the English Premier League and it is too early for him to find a replacement to make him forget.
Inter Miami made no changes for the second half, while the U–Woe made six variants.
After the main players came out, the level was maintained. People from the stands lived the clash intensely, at the end of the day they had paid the highest price for tickets in the history of a sports show in Peru.
That response from fans is paradoxical because Peruvian football is going through the worst moment in its history. Despite this, the University and Alianza Lima, the most popular teams in the country, play in full stadiums all their matches. And Inter Miami’s presentation with Messi was no exception.
For a moment and, mainly thanks to Messi, the Peruvian fans forgot that the white team has scored only three goals in 12 games and with seven points is virtually eliminated in the South American eliminations to the 2026 World Cup.
Peruvian clubs have not passed the group phase in the Copa Libertadores for 11 years.
To top it off, an inefficient government and the brutal increase in corruption and crime in the country make life increasingly difficult for all Peruvians. But when I saw Messi, the fans scratched the pot to get the last to pay for his ticket.
Meanwhile, Inter continues its triumphant tour and now it is heading towards Panama.