La narrativa antes del Cruz Azul vs Atlanta United en la Leagues Cup era que si los cementeros quedaban eliminados, su entrenador, Ricardo 'Tuca' Ferretti se iba a quedar sin chamba.
Noventa minutos y una tanda de penales después, el DT puede respirar con cierta tranquilidad: La Máquina sobrevivió al desafío y avanzó a la segunda fase de la competencia.
Lionel Messi has not only revolutionized the style of play of Inter Miami but also transformed their boutique-ish DRV PNK Stadium into one of the hottest places in the U.S. to spot celebrities.
In just two games, the parade of elite athletes from other sports, actors and singers who have sat in the venue's VIP boxes to watch the Argentine's talent is just impressive.
Here is a running catalog of A-listers that couldn't resist Messi's magnetism.
Kim Kardashian
Miguel Almirón triggered the nostalgia train for Atlanta United fans on Wednesday when he scored in Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Newcastle during a friendly vs. Chelsea. After the goal he hit the old Miguel Almirón Josef Martínez celebration special.
Miguel Almiron scoring in Atlanta just feels right. ❤️
Con dos goles de Germán Berterame, Monterrey derrotó 3-0 a Real Salt Lake y le dio un poco de dignidad a lo que venían haciendo los equipos mexicanos en la Leagues Cup.
La efectividad del delantero argentino enamoró a los aficionados Rayados, pero al mismo tiempo dejó una profunda pregunta en sus bases: ¿es hora de empezar a despedirse de Rogelio Funes Mori?
Qué necesario es este tipo, por Dios.
Inter Miami are scoring goals. Yes, they have been doing it for a couple of years now, but since Lionel Messi's debut less than a week ago, the rest of the world has taken notice, too.
During this process, fans who are joining the bandwagon have also discovered that the club enjoys celebrating those goals by blasting the DRV PNK Stadium's speaker system with some highly divisive earworms.
I mean, you love them. Or you hate them.
The songs in question are two, and two very famous among Latino audiences:
Lionel Messi le regaló una nueva noche mágica al Inter Miami.
El fenómeno argentino inició su primer partido como titular para la franquicia de la MLS y mostró que su calidad es inconmensurable, anotando un doblete y registrando una asistencia en la goleada 4-0 sobre Atlanta United en la Leagues Cup.
At the end of the day, it's all about Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba (maybe Luis Suarez) turning around Inter Miami's season with 12 matches remaining and getting them from dead last in MLS to the playoffs.
In the meantime, they might just win the Leagues Cup.
The Leagues Cup is off to an interesting start, and while one side of the binational tournament has seen things like Messi scoring an incredible last-minute free kick winner in one of the most watched games of the year, the other side has the Concacaf Champions League champions stuck sleeping in a Canadian airport for a game in the United States to be played the night after.
Alan Pulido perdió los papeles en la Leagues Cup. El delantero mexicano terminó expulsado luego de darle un cabezazo a un rival durante el empate 3-3 del Sporting KC ante el FC Cincinnati.
Muy al estilo de Zinedine Zidane sobre Marco Materazzi en la final de la Copa del Mundo 2006.
Con su equipo ganando cómodamente por 2-0, Pulido se volvió en un energúmeno al minuto 30, tras una falta que él mismo le cometió al defensor Yerson Mosquera.
Friday night’s Leagues Cup match between Inter Miami and Cruz Azul was a historical moment for soccer in the United States as Lionel Messi made his amazing debut.
Fans will talk about that night for decades. The night Messi arrived in Major League Soccer.
What isn’t being talked about as much but deserves a spotlight is the performance from Sergio Busquets who also made his Inter Miami debut.