Lionel Messi bagged an assist as Inter Miami kicked off the 2024 MLS Season with a 2-0 victory vs. Real Salt Lake on Wednesday. What everyone is talking about is a Messi injured player trick we have never seen before.
Messi is one of the most creative players on the ball in the sport’s history. On Wednesday he did something this writer has personally never witnessed a player try before. He used an injured player on the ground and dribbled over him.
Messi injured player trick
Real Salt Lake left back Andrew Brody was the unfortunate victim of Messi’s latest trick. The RSL player went down with an apparent injury just outside his own box. While on the ground the Argentine used his injured body as a barrier, chipped him and attempted a shot.
Messi really chipped a player who was down injured pic.twitter.com/BN3fpsDjxy
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 22, 2024
If Messi had scored this goal the internet might have crashed for the next week.
Whether Messi intended to use Brody’s body as a shield against the defender is up for debate. The Inter Miami star has pulled a similar trick before back in his Barcelona days when he used the referee as a wall against a defender.
Despite injury concerns during Miami’s preseason, Messi went the full 90 minutes. His former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba also started the game.
Messi set up Robert Taylor for the first goal of the 2024 season in the 39th minute. Fans at DRV PNK Stadium will be seeing plenty more of this in the next months.
The first goal of 2024 belongs to Robert Taylor!
The set-up from Messi and a finish to make it 1-0.#MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/D7skJOK7bn pic.twitter.com/cWCFmvGrjc
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 22, 2024
Inter Miami’s second came in the 83rd minute after a nice bit of combination play between Messi and Suarez resulted in a goal for Diego Gómez.
A thing of beauty.
Messi, Suarez, and Gomez combine to make it 2-0! pic.twitter.com/yairCPktl2— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 22, 2024
Messi and the Herons’ next game is on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Los Angeles against the LA Galaxy.
