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Messi has 2 assists in front of star-studded crowd in Los Angeles as Inter Miami beats LAFC 3-1

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 03: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF celebrates with Leonardo Campana #9 after he scored a goal in the second half during a match between Inter Miami CF and Los Angeles Football Club at BMO Stadium on September 03, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) (Sean M. Haffey, 2023 Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES ā€“ Lionel Messi had two assists in front of a star-studded crowd as Inter Miami defeated Los Angeles Football Club 3-1 Sunday night.

Facundo FarĆ­as, Jordi Alba and Leonardo Campana scored for Miami, which is unbeaten in 11 matches across all competitions since Messi joined the club in mid-July.

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Ryan Hollingshead scored for LAFC, which has dropped its last two.

Sundayā€™s match though will be Messiā€™s last with Miami for at least the next two weeks. The 36-year-old will be part of Argentinaā€™s World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador on Thursday and Bolivia five days later

Messi has 11 goals and eight assists for Miami, which is eight points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with eight regular-season matches remaining.

Miamiā€™s visit to the defending MLS Cup champions was marked as one of the highlight games since Messi signed. It was viewed by 22,921 fans, a record for LAFCā€™s BMO Stadium.

It also vaulted into one of the most-demanded tickets in MLSā€™ 27-year history.

According to TickPick, the average purchase price for the match was $717, which was 515% more than the $110 before he signed.

By comparison, Beyonceā€™s concert at SoFi Stadium had an average purchase price of $493.

Among the celebrities in attendance were Prince Harry, LAFC co-owner Will Farrell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Selena Gomez, Owen Wilson, Mario Lopez and Edward Norton.

ā€œTed Lassoā€ stars Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunting also were at the game.

Messi had a wide-open shot in front of the net in the 38th minute, but McCarthy used his left foot to make the save.

FarĆ­as, who turned 21 on Aug. 28, made his second start since joining the club in late July and scored his first goal in the 14th minute.

Tomas AvilƩs made a great pass at midfield to as Farƭas was running up the right side of the field. Farƭas had an opening between two LAFC defenders and made a sliding shot with his outstretched right foot that beat LAFC goalkeeper John McCarthy hit the far post and bounced in.

Alba doubled LAFCā€™s advantage in the 51st minute with a left-footer. Messi had a 2-on-1 breakaway in the 83rd minute before passing to Campana, who had a wide-open shot at the net.

Hollingshead averted the shutout with a header off a corner kick.

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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer


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