Lionel Messi marked his return from injury Saturday, scoring his fourth goal of the season as Inter Miami drew the Colorado Rapids.
Because of a muscle injury, Messi missed 4 consecutive matches of Inter Miami. After more than 3 weeks of recovery, Messi reappeared in the match between Inter Miami and Colorado Rapids at the US professional tournament this morning (April 7).
In this match, Messi did not start. Coach Tata Martino replaced El Pulga to replace Sunderland at the beginning of the second half, when Inter Miami was leading 0-1 (Navarro scored to give Colorado Rapids a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute).
A few minutes after coming on as a substitute, Lionel Messi made a difference. In the 57th minute, receiving a pass from Negri, El Pulga scored a beautiful goal to equalize the score 1-1.
Three minutes after Messi “fired”, Inter Miami took a 2-1 lead thanks to Leonardo Afonso’s goal. Messi made his mark on this goal by passing to Ruíz to set up Leonardo Afonso.
Despite leading 2-1, Inter Miami could not win the final. Messi’s team conceded a goal in the 88th minute, thereby unfortunately having to divide the points with a score of 2-2.
The draw with Colorado Rapids is Inter Miami’s fourth consecutive winless match on all fronts (draw 2, lose 2). Four days after sharing points with Colorado Rapids, Inter Miami will host Monterrey in the quarterfinals second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup (April 11). In the first leg on April 4, coach Tata Martino’s team lost 1-2, the match Messi did not play due to injury.
RESULT: Inter Miami 2-2 Colorado Rapids
MATCH FACTS
Inter Miami: Callender, Ruiz, Sailor, Allen, Negri, Aviles (Busquets 56), Borgelin, Gressel (Weigandt 56), Sunderland (Messi 46), Afonso (Alba 70), Campana (Gomez 42).
Subs not used: Suarez, Dos Santos, Freire, Cremaschi.
Goals: Messi 57, Afonso 60
Booked: Negri, Weigandt, Alba
Colorado Rapids: Steffen, Anderson, Bombito, Maxso, Vines, Bassett, Larraz (Stewart-Baynes 77), Mosso (Harris 64), Mihailovic, Cabral (Yapi 64), Navarro (Diack 85).
Subs not used: Abubakar, Frederick, Beaudry, Edwards, Travis.
Goals: Navarro 45, Bassett 88
Booked: Navarro, Cabral