Fans from FC Dallas and Inter Miami fought following their League Cup match on Monday outside the stadium.
At the Toyota Stadium which is the home grounds of FC Dallas. Lionel Messi helped spark a comeback after his team fell behind 4-2 to become the hero once more for his new team.
Within six minutes, the seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or put Inter Miami ahead after grabbing a pass from recently acquired Jordi Alba.
However, FC Dallas quickly found their rhythm and scored three goals before Inter Miami’s Benjamin Cremaschi equalized.
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Robert Taylor’s own goal restored Dallas’ two-goal lead before Messi reclaimed the spotlight by curling a free kick into an area where Dallas defender Marco Farfan could only head the ball into his own goal.
The game was headed to penalties when, after five minutes, the tiny magician worked even more Messi magic as he routinely whipped a free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.
Inter Miami qualified for the round of 16 thanks to goals from Messi and Sergio Busquets from the penalty spot, although some fans were visibly divided following the match.
There is a video of both groups of fans fighting outside the stadium, although it is unclear what started the altercation. The video is available to view below.
After their defeat, FC Dallas players were seen posing for photos with Messi, apparently not wanting to let their setback stand in the way of a good photo op.
Tata Martino, the manager of Inter Miami, waxed poetic about his No. 10 after the final whistle.
“We have the best player in the world. That can’t be ignored. When we have our moments, the team is lethal,” he said, before being asked where the team would be without Messi.
“This question always gets asked in the places where he is. Someone can bet on what Barcelona would’ve looked like without Messi, what the Argentina national team would look like without Messi or anywhere he’s been.
“Fortunately, we have him, and today he once again showed he’s a tremendously important player. The majority of times there’s a free kick in this area, and I think only with him do you get the feeling that it’s going to be a goal.
“A free kick usually is something where you think it won’t be a goal 90 percent of the time, but when he has it, it’s the opposite. You think it won’t be a goal 10 percent of the time, but the rest it will be.”
SOURCE: www.xtratsports.com
