‘I took advantage of goalkeeper's mistake': Messi explains brilliant free-kick winner for Inter Miami against Porto
Lionel Messi starred with a free kick as Inter Miami beat Porto 2-1 in their FIFA Club World Cup match at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday (Friday morning in India) to stay second in the Group A standings. Messi scored a 54th-minute free kick to give Inter Miami a 2-1 lead before Porto opened the scoring in the eighth minute. Samu Aghehowa scored a penalty, but Telasco Segovia scored in the 47th minute for the equaliser for Inter Miami.
Inter Miami captain Messi said he is happy with the win but rues the goalless draw against Al Ahly.
'It's a great joy. A lot of effort went into it, and we worked very well. I'm very happy. We were left with a bitter taste after the first match. We thought we could have won it,' he said after the match.
The Argentine maestro found the top corner with a second-half set-piece to clinch a victory for the MLS side and give it a strong chance of progressing from Group A. Inter Miami and Palmeiras have four points each after the Brazilian side beat Al Ahly 2-0 earlier on — the Egyptians, like Porto, have one point.
Explaining the thought behind his kick, which gave Miami the decisive lead, Messi said, '(In the free kick) I took advantage of the space left by the goalkeeper, who was standing still and not covering his post. I tried to score there.'
Messi believes the change in mindset of Inter Miami players worked in this game, but accepts their last group game against Palmeiras will be difficult. 'The other day (there were) nerves from a lot of young guys playing in such a significant competition. We've changed. We're going to compete, try to play our game. Today we were the inferior team, but we have our weapons. Next up is Palmeiras, which is a big club in the world. It's going to be another very difficult game.'
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