Inter Miami 2-1 FC Porto: Messi pulls the years back with freekick as American side claim first win of Club World Cup
After a barren draw in the opening game of the competition, Inter Miami came from behind to claim a dramatic 2-1 win over Porto, thanks in no small part to their 37-year-old talisman Lionel Messi, whose sublime freekick whizzed into the net just before the hour mark.
It was hardly a vintage start to the game. Both teams laboured and were evenly listless, but the Portuguese side took the lead just eight minutes in when Nigerian youngster Samu Aghehowa calmly rolled a penalty under Oscar Ustari, after Noah Allen apparently tripped Joao Mario in the box. Inter may perhaps have much justification for considering the penalty too soft.
Porto then took charge of proceedings and were well on top for much of the first half, exploiting space on the flanks and stretching Inter’s midfield. Francisco Moura was denied only by a desperate clearance off the line, and Alan Varela clipped the outside of the post with a curling effort just before the break.
Inter looked disjointed. Messi kept attempting and failing to connect a looping pass to the runners at the edge of the box. Luis Suarez huffed and puffed, his age more evident on the pitch than Inter’s garish pink. But the American side found a rhythm after the restart. Marcelo Weigandt surged down the right, pulled the ball back into the box, and Telasco Segovia smashed a rising shot past Claudio Ramos to bring Inter level.
That lifted the crowd but just a few minutes later it went completely wild. With Messi taken down just outside the box as he pressed towards goal, the referee gave a freekick. The distance was ideal, the angle perfect. The strike was classic Messi – up and over the wall, dipping viciously into the top corner while Ramos could only flail in vain.
It was the Argentine maestro’s 50th goal in just 61 appearances for the MLS club and his sixth in the Club World Cup, bringing him level with Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale on the tournament’s all-time list, and one behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who has seven.
Porto came searching for an equaliser. Aghehowa was wasteful but Inter did a good job of placing a blockade on passing lanes. Their time management was also very good, and ultimately Porto could do nothing to equalise as the game drew to a close.
