With his goal against Dallas in the League Cup round of 16, Inter Miami striker Lionel Messi is only one goal away from free-kick specialist David Beckham.
In the 85th minute, the away team Inter Miami was awarded a free kick from the right wall, the shooting angle was about 30 degrees, the distance was more than 20 meters. Messi's free kick curved the ball over the wall and hit the dead corner high to tie the score at 4-4 for the home team. A Miami player held his head in amazement at this goal, and this was the second time Messi had taken a free kick in the final minutes to save his team in the last four matches.
Lionel Messi with a free kick against Dallas at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, USA on the evening of August 6, 2023. Photo: Reuters
This was Messi's 64th career free kick, just one behind Beckham and two behind Ronaldinho. Beckham is also the president and co-owner of Inter Miami. However, the Argentine superstar is still 13 goals away from Juninho's free kick record.
In his post-match press conference, home coach Nico Estevez said he was not surprised that Messi scored in that situation. "Free kicks like that for Messi are like penalties for other players. It's that simple," he said. "Everyone saw that. He's so consistent. We could only hope that the ball would miss the target, or that Messi would slip while running up."
Messi takes a free kick against Dallas FC.
The visiting coach Tata Martino shares the same view as his Dallas counterpart. "With free kicks in that position, Messi is the only player who is expected to score most of the time," he commented. "With other players, free kicks usually have a 90% chance of not scoring. With Messi, a free kick from the wall has a 90% chance of scoring."
If only counting national championships, Messi has a scoring efficiency of 9% from free kicks, with 41 goals from 456 free kicks. This rate of Cristiano Ronaldo is 6.4%, with 34 goals from 532 free kicks.
Messi played four games for Miami, only two of which he played the full 90 minutes. The 36-year-old superstar scored seven goals and assisted one, helping his team win all four games and receive all four man of the match awards. Before Messi's arrival, Miami had gone nine games without a win, finishing last in the Eastern Conference in MLS.
Miami will continue to play in the second stage of MLS on August 21 against Charlotte, but before that, they will continue to nurture their hopes of winning the Leagues Cup after reaching the quarterfinals.
Hoang An
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