Those who came to see Lionel Messi’s brilliance finally were rewarded for their patience.
In a development that didn’t make many New York-area soccer fans happy — especially those who plunked down exorbitant sums to see the international superstar play — Messi was not in the starting XI for Inter Miami in its ballyhooed road match Saturday night in Harrison, N.J.
Messi didn’t immediately affect the match, only touching the ball a handful of times initially, but he converted a feed in front from teammate Benjamin Cremaschi in the 89th minute for his 11th goal in nine appearance since transferring to David Beckham’s club from Paris Saint-Germain in July, That workload caused manager Tata Martino to suggest that night and again on Friday that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, as the best player in the world, might be rested altogether on Saturday night as MLS play resumed. Fellow import Sergio Busquets also was held out of the starting lineup before coming on alongside Messi in the 60th minute.Diego Gomez also scored for Miami, which improved to 6-14-3 in regular-season action to move out of last place in the Eastern Conference.
“The only thing I am concerned about is if he is able to play. Throughout his career, he has always wanted to play every game and sometimes you have to convince him to stop so he can recover, but I don’t pay attention to external pressures when it comes to deciding if he should play or not.”
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