In front of a star-studded audience on Sunday night, Inter Miami beat Los Angeles Football Club 3-1, including two assists from Lionel Messi.
Miami remains undefeated in 11 games in all competitions since Messi joined the team in mid-July, thanks to goals from Facundo Faraas, Jordi Alba, and Leonardo Campana.
Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) has lost two in a row despite a goal by Ryan Hollingshead.
However, Messi will no longer be playing for Miami after this Sunday’s game. The 36-year-old will play in both of Argentina’s World Cup qualifying games this week, on Thursday against Ecuador and five days later against Bolivia.
Miami is now eight points short of an Eastern Conference playoff berth with eight games left, despite Messi’s eleven goals and eight assists.
Since Messi joined the team, games like Miami’s visit to the reigning MLS Cup winners have been highlighted. The attendance of 22,921 was a new high at BMO Stadium, home of LAFC.
In the MLS’s 27-year existence, it became one of the most sought-after tickets in history.
The average match ticket cost $717, up from $110 before he joined, as reported by TickPick.
Beyoncé’s performance at SoFi Stadium, on the other hand, had an average ticket price of $493.
Prince Harry, Will Ferrell (co-owner of LAFC), Leonardo DiCaprio, Selena Gomez, Owen Wilson, Mario Lopez, and Edward Norton were among the stars in attendance.
The game was also attended by “Ted Lasso” actors Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunting.
McCarthy made a diving stop to his left to deny Messi a goal-scoring opportunity in the 38th minute.
The 21-year-old Faras earned his second start for the club since signing in late July, and he scored his first goal in the 14th minute of this game.
As Faras raced up the right side of the field, Tomas Avilés produced a wonderful ball from midfield to him. To score, Faras took advantage of a space between two LAFC defenders, slipped the ball toward goal with his extended right foot, and fired past LAFC goalkeeper John McCarthy.
In the 51st minute, Alba extended LAFC’s lead with a left-footed shot. In the 83rd minute, Messi had a 2-on-1 breakaway and passed to Campana, who had a clear chance on goal.
With a header off of a corner kick, Hollingshead prevented a shutout.
