da bwin： Tata Martino has hailed the “genius” of Lionel Messi after seeing the Argentine salvage a point for Inter Miami against the LA Galaxy.
da betway： Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Herons trailed late on in CaliforniaArgentine icon salvaged a pointFlorida-based side remain unbeatenWHAT HAPPENED?
The Herons appeared to be heading towards defeat in California as the clock ticked over into the 92nd minute. They had survived a few scares along the way, with former Barcelona star Riqui Puig missing an early penalty for the hosts, but were still in the game as time ran out.
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Messi was once again the man to deliver when it matters most, as he combined with Jordi Alba down the left before prodding high into the back of the net, and Martino conceded afterwards that the Argentine was the difference for his side on the day. He told : “It's true that they dominated the first half, especially with the period in which Riqui Puig had the most amount of time with the ball and made the team play very well. They recently got their last two DPs and because of that, the team looks completely different. Because they have a great No. 9 and also two dangerous wingers, and also they're very solid defensively. But then we had the personality to continue searching, and we reached the tie, well, you could say with the genius of Leo.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
There was little that the Galaxy could do as Messi came up clutch, with LA head coach Greg Vanney saying of seeing two points slip through his grasp: “When he and Alba connect like that, it’s ridiculous. It’s really, really difficult to defend, and Alba’s very good at finding Messi when he gets on the move like that. And unfortunately, he just slipped away from us for a split second, and that became the difference. For me it’s the brain, right? It’s what he sees on the field, where he recognizes different spaces, where he knows where everybody is all the time and he’s already organized with the next series of plays he’s looking at. Not just the next pass, the next series of passes. He’s already calculated all of that out and he’s already manipulating things on the field. And that’s why it’s tough sometimes, when you give them time on the ball, his capacity to just manipulate spaces. Whether defenders are able to step out or get pressure to something, or have to stay in and defend because he’s taking up a certain position, he’s just constantly manipulating the decisions that are happening on the field. Which is hard to coach against, but it’s a pleasure to watch.”
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?
Inter Miami remain unbeaten through their opening two games of the new MLS campaign, picking up four points along way, while Messi is up and running on the goal front as he begins to move through the gears on the back of difficult pre-season that was disrupted by injury.