The entire Europe has seen Lionel Messi scoring clutch goals for Barcelona over the years in his club career. On Sunday, even Major League Soccer saw the Argentine maestro rising to the occasion and scoring a much-needed equaliser for the club from a free-kick. Messi, known for scoring some of the most spectacular free-kicks in his distinguished football career, put the ball past the FC Dallas goalkeeper late in the game, helping his team equalise 4-4 and pushing the Leagues Cup Round of 16 match into the penalty shootout.
Messi, who had opened the scoring for Inter Miami in the 6th minute, was involved in a goal-fest that saw both teams score 4 goals each. While Messi would've liked to win the match for his side in normal time with a hat-trick, such a result couldn't become a reality. However, he did convert the opening penalty in the shootout for his side to put Inter Miami into the quarter-finals.
Inter Miami looked down and out at one point in the game. At the half-way mark, Messi's side trailed 1-2 before Dallas extended their lead to 2-goals, making it 3-1. But, Robert Taylor's own goal at the 68th minute mark gave Miami hope. Messi's free-kick then ensured that the game wouldn't end without a penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, Inter Miami converted all 5 of their chances from the spot, securing a 5-3 win over Dallas to move into the next round. Miami's Benjamin Cremaschi scored the final penalty to seal the win for his side after Dallas' Paxton Pomykal had missed the second kick.
"It was a demonstration of character because it's difficult to come back in a game twice," Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said in a postgame interview with Apple TV.