Inter Miami CF beat Independiente del Valle 2-1 on Thursday night in Puerto Rico with goals from Santiago Morales and Lionel Messi to conclude the team’s preseason friendly tour.
The friendly, originally scheduled for Feb. 13, was postponed after Messi suffered a hamstring injury in a previous preseason match. The defending champions had already kicked off their MLS season on Saturday with a 3-0 loss to LAFC, but honored the commitment to play the friendly nonetheless.
Inter Miami, in collaboration with the event promoter and government of Puerto Rico, opted to reschedule the event for a later date to best accommodate the situation.
«Hi everyone, I wanted to send this message to the people of Puerto Rico and all the people that will be going to the training session and game,» Messi said in a video prior to the postponement of the originally scheduled match.
«To be honest, during the last game in Ecuador I concluded with a muscle strain, which is why I left the field early. So, together with the people of the organization and Inter Miami it was decided to suspend this game. We hope it can be reprogrammed, and we can see each other. Visit you soon. Sending a hug to you all and thank you for all the love that you always give. I hope we can do it in the future, all the best.»
Inter Miami later confirmed the game would be played on Feb. 26, amid the ongoing MLS regular season. Despite returning to action in just 72 hours to face in-state rivals Orlando City SC on Sunday, head coach Javier Mascherano said he would use the whole squad against Independiente.
«This game clearly gives us the opportunity to, first, give minutes to guys who have perhaps had fewer minutes in the preseason and in the last game we played. But yes, we’re going to try to give everyone playing time,» Mascherano said on Thursday morning.
Mascherano also revealed the game would serve as an opportunity to give players with less time on the field an opportunity to get minutes. He did so by kicking off the match with Luis Suárez, Rocco Ríos Novo, Morales and Facundo Mura, among others, all players who saw little to no time against LAFC in the season opener.
Messi, however, entered the pitch after halftime alongside regular starters like Rodrigo de Paul and Telasco Segovia. New Designated Player Germán Berterame also saw time against Independiente del Valle.
Messi scored from the penalty spot and heard loud ovations every time he touched the ball. With the game almost over, several fans ran onto the field, two of whom reached the Argentina World Cup winner and were able to take a selfie with him before the match ended.
