Lionel Messi finally took a break, spending the first 60 minutes on the bench, much to the dismay of all the fans who paid big money to see Inter Miami play on the road against the New York Red Bulls Saturday night.
"We want Messi! We want Messi!" fans chanted loudly for much of the first half.
They finally got their wish, and once again, their Argentine hero delivered, scoring a spectacular goal in the dying minutes, putting a pink exclamation mark on Inter Miami's 2-0 victory. The win extended Miami's win streak to nine since Messi's arrival, and it was his first in MLS league play.
Red Bull Arena erupted when Messi headed to the corner to warm up early in the second half, cell phone cameras snapped away, and when he took off his lime green vest and stepped onto the field, the place went berserk.
It was impossible to tell which was the home team, as Messi cheers drowned out the Red Bulls faithful and their beating drums.
Dozens of celebrities, including Matt Damon, Bad Bunny, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Fat Joe, DMC and many top tennis players in town for the US Open (including Novak Djokovic) were on the guest list for the highly anticipated match, which was also being shown live on a giant screen at Times Square.
The burning question heading into the game was whether Messi would start after playing in all eight games since his arrival, including the full 90 minutes in the past six, and 120 minutes in Wednesday's US Open semifinal victory.
The answer: No.
Coach Tata Martino chose to rest five regular starters – Messi, Sergio Busquets, Josef Martinez, DeAndre Yedlin and Benjamin Cremaschi. Instead, he loaded the lineup with five Under-22 players Facundo Farias, Diego Gomez, David Ruiz, Noah Allen and Tomas Aviles.
Messi, Busquets, Martinez, Yedlin and Cremaschi were all on the bench, and available to come in as substitutes. And they all did. Cremaschi combined with Messi for his goal. Messi found Cremaschi on the right, and the Key Biscayne, Fla., teenager sent a nifty pass back to his idol, who was unmarked and knocked it in from close range.
Fans chanted "Messi! Messi" during player introductions before the game and broke into "We want Messi!" by the sixth minute. Messi sat beside Busquets in the front row of the bench, taking it all in during the first half.
When Diego Gomez scored for Inter Miami in the 37th minute, Messi cheered for him, as did much of the crowd. But within a minute, the "We want Messi!" chants continued.
At least one third of the fans at Red Bull Arena Saturday night were decked in Miami pink and Messi number 10 shirts from the Argentine national team and FC Barcelona. Messi merchandise was on sale from the moment fans disembarked onto the Path train platform adjacent to the stadium. All along the streets and into the parking lot, Messi shirts, hats, scarves and pins were for sale.
Large groups of Argentine fans gathered in Messi shirts to enjoy pre-game steak bar-be-ques.
After taking a one month hiatus to play cup tournaments, Inter Miami resumed MLS play on the road. It was the league debut for Messi, Busquets, Alba, Farias, Gomez and Aviles, all of whom signed this summer.
Martino had said he might have to rotate starters as players seemed fatigued after a jam-packed schedule over the past month.
Miami played four games in the past 12 days, three of them on the road, and faced another three games over the next nine days — at the Red Bulls Saturday, at home against Nashville on Wednesday, on the road against Los Angeles FC on September 2.
Heading into Saturday's game, Inter Miami had the worst record in the league with 18 points, and was stuck dead last in the Eastern Conference. Although it will be a tall task for Miami to dig out of the basement and fight for a playoff spot, with the win over the Red Bulls, Miami inched up from 15th place to 14th with 21 points.
