Messi exits early with injury in Miami's Leagues Cup win
The 38-year-old Argentine superstar forward appeared to be having treatment on his upper right leg or groin before making his exit under his own power and walking to the locker room.
But after a 5-4 triumph in penalties after a 2-2 draw, Miami coach Javier Mascherano said it would be Sunday before exact details of the injury and the severity of the setback would be known.
'Well, he felt a discomfort, and we will not be able to know until tomorrow how severe the injury is,' Mascherano said after the match.
'There's probably something there. Maybe not as important, because he was really not in pain. But he did feel a pull.'
Messi took the ball and dribbled into the Necaxa back line, but he stumbled at the top of the box and ran into Necaxa defender Alexis Pena then tumbled to the ground, pounding the pitch in frustration as the ball was cleared away.
Moments later, Herons captain Messi was alone near midfield on the left wing by himself when he went to the ground in a seated position, lying on his back briefly until trainers arrived.
Mascherano elected to send in Federico Redondo to replace Messi.
Inter Miami won 5-4 on penalties after the 10-man teams played to a 2-2 draw after full time.
Argentine striker Tomas Badaloni was denied on the decisive penalty kick in the third round of the shootout while Rodrigo De Paul, Ben Cremaschi, Jordi Alba, Redondo and Luis Suarez hit penalties for Miami, Uruguayan striker Suarez getting the decider on the last kick.
Inter Miami Venezuelan midfielder Telasco Segovia scored in the 12th minute, but Herons defender Maximiliano Falcon of Uruguay was shown a red card in the 17th minute.
Badaloni netted the equalizer for Necaxa in the 33rd minute to lift the visitors level at half-time, and Necaxa was cut to 10 men as well when Cristian Calderon received a red card in the 60th minute.
Ricardo Monreal, who came off the Necaxa bench in the 74th minute, scored in the 81st to put the Mexican side ahead only for Spain's Alba to net the equalizer for Miami in the second minute of stoppage time.
During Argentine World Cup qualifiers in March, Messi was nagged by thigh strain issues.
Agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
2 days ago
- Al Etihad
Del Toro, Ayuso land 1-2 in Spain for Team Emirates XRG
5 Aug 2025 11:43 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)Isaac del Toro delivered another statement performance for UAE Team Emirates XRG on Sunday, claiming his eighth victory of the season with a commanding solo win at the Circuito de Getxo in Spain. The 21-year-old Mexican launched a decisive attack on the steep Alto de Pike climb with 16.5km remaining, distancing the field and holding off the chase to seal a dominant win.'After a really hard day yesterday in San Sebastián, we find again the good legs like the last weeks,' said Del Toro. 'Yesterday was super good, and today also with the team, the guys are trying to fight super well. It is something I am very proud to be part of.''Thanks to the guys, me and Juan are able to fight [for the win] again, and try to do again first and second,' he added. 'It was a super nice day for us, we suffered with the heat and also with the level of the race, but we enjoyed today.'Del Toro's effort was backed up by a textbook team performance. UAE Team Emirates XRG had earlier taken control of the peloton, reining in a 10-man breakaway with strong turns from Marcos Freire, Domen Novak and Jay Vine. Their pace set the stage for a fierce finale as the race reached the base of the Alto de Pike (2km at 9.6%).Juan Ayuso set a brutal tempo on the climb, softening up the competition and paving the way for Del Toro's explosive move. By the summit, Del Toro had opened a 10-second gap. On the descent and across the final flat kilometres, Ayuso marked the chasers – first Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), and later Lidl-Trek riders Héctor Álvarez and Toms Skujiņš – as Del Toro maintained his slender the final uphill drag to the finish in Getxo, Ayuso outsprinted Aranburu to secure second place, ensuring a 1-2 finish for the Emirati team – its 69th win of the season. The result capped a strong weekend in the Basque Country for UAE Team Emirates XRG, after Jan Christen's runner-up finish at Saturday's San Sebastian classic race, where Del Toro also featured with a gritty fifth-place finish.
Dubai Eye
3 days ago
- Dubai Eye
Lionel Messi injures hamstring as Inter Miami top Necaxa
Lionel Messi left injured in the 11th minute with hamstring discomfort, but Inter Miami earned a 5-4 penalty shootout win against visiting Necaxa following a 2-2 draw in Matchday 2 of Leagues Cup Phase One play on Saturday night. Miami (1-0-1, 5 points) converted all of their penalties, with Luis Suarez clinching the extra point with a finish off the underside of the crossbar after a wild game that saw both teams finish with 10 men. Herons goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo made one save, thwarting Tomas Badaloni's attempt from the spot. Earlier, Badaloni scored his third of the tournament in the 33rd minute for Necaxa (1-0-1, 4 points), who played 11-on-10 for 43 minutes after Inter Miami's Maximiliano Falcon was ejected for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity with a 17th-minute foul. Cristian Calderon's second yellow card in the 60th minute evened numbers before Necaxa's Ricardo Montreal and Miami's Jordi Alba traded goals after the 80th minute. Miami's Telasco Segovia opened the scoring a minute after Messi's departure. The 38-year-old Messi limped off the field under his own power. Miami manager Javier Mascherano confirmed postgame that Messi felt hamstring soreness, and expressed optimism it was relatively minor. Club America 3 (8), Minnesota United 3 (7) All eight penalty takers converted to lift 10-man Club America to an important two points with an 8-7 penalty shootout victory after rallying from behind three times. Sebastian Caceres' 90th-minute header pulled America (0-0-2, 3 points) level from behind for a third time in the match and fifth time in the tournament. Goalkeeper Luis Malagon then followed a sensational denial of Carlos Harvey in second-half stoppage time with a penalty save of Nicolas Romero on Minnesota's eighth PK to help seal the shootout win. The Mexico City outfit previously tied it at 1-1 through Michael Boxall's own goal in the 27th minute and 2-2 on Jose Zuniga's 53rd-minute contribution. Tani Oluwaseyi and Bongi Hlongwane each scored their second goals of the tournament for Minnesota (1-0-1, 4 points). Harvey then put the Loons up 3-2 in the 65th minute, three minutes after America's Igor Lichnovsky received his second yellow card. Pumas UNAM 3, Atlanta United 2 Coco Carrasquilla completed a second-half brace for his second and third goals of the tournament and Pumas held on for victory despite the late ejection of their goalkeeper. Alvaro Angulo scored the earlier goal for Pumas (1-0-1, 5 points). Then he played in goal for the final moments after Keylor Navas was sent off in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time in a match played in Orlando, Fla. Atlanta (0-2-0, 0 points) took a 2-1 lead into halftime through an own-goal from Navas and a late-first-half strike from Emmanuel Latte Lath. But the Five Stripes were eliminated from tournament contention after conceding multiple second-half goals for a second consecutive match. Carrasquilla leveled at 2-2 in the 62nd minute with a powerful finish from the edge of the penalty area, then put Pumas in front in 89th when he put in the rebound of his own saved penalty. Atletico San Luis 2 (4), Real Salt Lake 2 (1) Andres Sanchez saved one penalty in regulation, then one more to help visiting Atletico San Luis to a hard-earned shootout win in Sandy, Utah. Miguel Garcia and Joao Pedro scored in regulation for San Luis (0-1-1, 2 points) before all four PK takers converted in the tiebreaker (4-1). Braian Angulo scored both goals for Real Salt Lake (0-0-2, 3 points), including an 88th-minute equalizer that snuck inside the far right post on what looked to be an intended cross. But Diego Luna's failure to convert from the spot in regulation against Sanchez forced the shootout, where Brayan Vera missed the target and Sanchez saved Justen Glad. Orlando City 3, Atlas 1 Martin Ojeda scored the decisive goal in the 57th minute to boost Orlando City's hopes of reaching the knockout phase and eliminate visiting Atlas from contention. Ivan Angulo opened the scoring, and Marco Pasalic added very late insurance 12 minutes into second-half stoppage time seal the win for Orlando (1-0-1, 4 points). The Lions opened their tournament with a 1-1 draw against Pumas UNAM and lost the ensuing penalty shootout. Matias Coccaro briefly leveled the contest in the 50th minute for Atlas (0-2-0, 0 points), which lost its opening match 2-1 to Inter Miami on a stoppage-time goal assisted by Messi. Coccaro was later sent off in second-half stoppage time before Pasalic's tally for his role in a late skirmish that involved several players from both teams. Portland Timbers 1, Queretaro 0 Cristhian Paredes scored his second goal in as many appearances in the 36th minute to keep Portland perfect against 10-man Queretaro. Paredes' powerful low finish from the second phase of a corner kick followed his first goal of the regular season in a 1-0 victory at LAFC a week ago. James Pantemis made two saves for Portland (2-0-0, six points) to keep his second clean sheet of the tournament and fifth in all competitions. Jonathan Perlaza became the second Queretaro player sent off in as many games in the 45th minute as the Gallos Blancos (0-2-0, 0 points) were eliminated from tournament contention.
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Gulf Today
Messi exits early with injury in Miami's Leagues Cup win
Lionel Messi suffered an injury and was removed in the 11th minute of Inter Miami's Leagues Cup penalty kicks victory over Mexico's Necaxa on Saturday at Fort Lauderdale's Chase Stadium. The 38-year-old Argentine superstar forward appeared to be having treatment on his upper right leg or groin before making his exit under his own power and walking to the locker room. But after a 5-4 triumph in penalties after a 2-2 draw, Miami coach Javier Mascherano said it would be Sunday before exact details of the injury and the severity of the setback would be known. 'Well, he felt a discomfort, and we will not be able to know until tomorrow how severe the injury is,' Mascherano said after the match. 'There's probably something there. Maybe not as important, because he was really not in pain. But he did feel a pull.' Messi took the ball and dribbled into the Necaxa back line, but he stumbled at the top of the box and ran into Necaxa defender Alexis Pena then tumbled to the ground, pounding the pitch in frustration as the ball was cleared away. Moments later, Herons captain Messi was alone near midfield on the left wing by himself when he went to the ground in a seated position, lying on his back briefly until trainers arrived. Mascherano elected to send in Federico Redondo to replace Messi. Inter Miami won 5-4 on penalties after the 10-man teams played to a 2-2 draw after full time. Argentine striker Tomas Badaloni was denied on the decisive penalty kick in the third round of the shootout while Rodrigo De Paul, Ben Cremaschi, Jordi Alba, Redondo and Luis Suarez hit penalties for Miami, Uruguayan striker Suarez getting the decider on the last kick. Inter Miami Venezuelan midfielder Telasco Segovia scored in the 12th minute, but Herons defender Maximiliano Falcon of Uruguay was shown a red card in the 17th minute. Badaloni netted the equalizer for Necaxa in the 33rd minute to lift the visitors level at half-time, and Necaxa was cut to 10 men as well when Cristian Calderon received a red card in the 60th minute. Ricardo Monreal, who came off the Necaxa bench in the 74th minute, scored in the 81st to put the Mexican side ahead only for Spain's Alba to net the equalizer for Miami in the second minute of stoppage time. During Argentine World Cup qualifiers in March, Messi was nagged by thigh strain issues. Agencies
