Kerala Blasters star salutes Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami teammate for incredible role in Argentina icon’s goal against New York Red Bulls
Kerala Blasters forward Jaushua Sotirio praised Jordi Alba for his contribution to Lionel Messi's memorable goal for Inter Miami against New York Red Bulls on 27 August.
The Argentine superstar came off the bench in the 60th minute of the game to make his MLS debut with the score at 1-0. Just a few minutes before the 90-minute mark, Sergio Busquets pinged a long pass to Alba, who had made a very advanced run down the left flank.
Alba played an acrobatic first-time pass to Messi inside the box, who then played a smart 1-2 with Benjamin Cremaschi. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's pass to Cremaschi in the build-up to the goal grabbed headlines, and rightly so.
Messi's pass to the 18-year-old was a perfect example of his playmaking ability and vision. But Sotirio's comment pointed out Alba's wonderful bicycle pass to his former Barcelona teammate.
@433's Instagram account shared a video of the goal, on which the 27-year-old Australian striker commented:
"Jordi alba credit 🤸🏽"
Miami's win took them to 14th in the MLS table with 21 points from 23 games so far — two ahead of bottom-placed Toronto, who have played three more games. It was also their first win in the league after an 11-game winless run in the competition.
Lionel Messi continues brilliant Inter Miami scoring run in win against New York Red Bulls
Lionel Messi has now scored a goal in all but one of his nine games for Inter Miami since his transfer from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as a free agent.
The 36-year-old failed to find the back of the net in his team's semi-final clash against Cincinnati on 23 August. But he provided two sumptuous assists for Leonardo Campana as the game finished 3-3 after extra time (Miami won on penalties).
Messi now has 11 goals and two assists in nine games for his new club across competitions. He was especially impressive in the Leagues Cup, where he scored nine goals in seven games as his team won the competition for the first time in their history.
The former Barcelona and PSG superstar's next task will be to help Inter Miami win consecutive MLS games for the first time since May. They face Nashville at home on 31 August.
Messi is also expected to miss at least three MLS games in September as he will link up with Argentina for their World Cup qualifiers.