Lionel Messi delivered when it mattered, curling in a second-half free kick to level the match before orchestrating Micael dos Santos’ late winner as Inter Miami CF rallied from behind to beat New York City FC 3-2 at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.
The result lifted Inter Miami (3-1-1) into a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference while handing NYCFC (3-1-1) its first loss of the season.
Gonzalo Lujan set the tone early, scoring his first professional goal in the fourth minute with a rebound finish to give Miami the lead.
Nicolas Fernandez continued his strong start with his fifth goal, scoring on a free kick in the 17th minute to pull NYCFC even. Fernandez has eight goals in 16 career appearances since last season.
Agustin Ojeda scored, with assists from Maxi Moralez and Kevin O’Toole, to give NYCFC a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute. It was Ojeda’s second goal this season and his fifth in 61 career matches. Moralez has four assists this season.
The advantage lasted two minutes. Messi drilled a left-footed free kick that deflected past Matt Freese for his fourth goal of the season. It was Messi’s 54th goal in his 58th MLS appearance. The Argentine star has 901 career goals for club and country.
Messi’s corner kick in the 74th minute set up Micael’s header as Inter Miami took a 3-2 lead. Noah Allen and David Ayala also had assists on Micael’s first goal with the club.
Dayne St. Clair made three saves for Inter Miami in his first season with the defending MLS Cup champions. He has allowed eight goals in four starts.
Freese finished with five saves for NYCFC.
Messi had shots hit the post and crossbar in the first half.
NYCFC leads the series 7-4-4, but Miami is 3-0-4 in the last seven meetings.
Next up:
Miami hosts Austin FC on April 4.
New York hosts St. Louis City SC on April 4.
