Lionel Messi scores, gets two assists as Inter Miami beats Olimpia 5-0 in Honduras
The Inter Miami team bus was wrapped in pink and advertised Saturday night’s preseason game against Honduran club Olimpia as “El Evento Del Siglo” (The Event of the Century).
Fans lined the streets of San Pedro Sula to get a glimpse of Lionel Messi and his teammates as they pulled into their hotel and again as the team headed to the stadium. Honduran television crews had been broadcasting live at Estadio Olimpico since Friday night. Street vendors sold every imaginable Messi souvenir, including bobble heads.
A 7.6 magnitude earthquake was registered north of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea less than two hours before kickoff, but it did not affect the game.
Messi gave the crowd a lasting memory, scoring a goal and delivering two assists to lead Miami to a 5-0 victory. The Argentine captain played 63 minutes and was replaced by 17-year-old Santi Morales.
The other Inter Miami goals were scored by Fede Redondo, Noah Allen, Luis Suarez, and Ryan Sailor, who came off the bench in the 71st minute.
“Lots of goals [from the team] and a clean sheet, which was really important,” said defender Ian Fray, who started and played 60 minutes. “That’s one of our goals. We know we can score, but we have to keep clean sheets. Every practice we feel more confident. We’re ready to go.”
It was the third win during Inter Miami’s Americas Tour, following victories against Universitario in Peru and San Miguelito in Panama. The team is undefeated through four preseason games under new coach Javier Mascherano.
Messi scored in the 27th minute and assisted on Redondo’s goal in the 44th minute and Allen’s goal in first half added time. Miami led 3-0 at halftime.
Luis Suarez, who assisted on Messi’s goal, scored his first goal the preseason in the 54th minute with an assist from Benja Cremaschi. Sailor’s goal came off a pass from Leo Afonso.
Inter Miami was missing left back Jordi Alba, who was injured and did not travel. Alba suffered an unspecified injury during the previous game in Panama last weekend, per a team spokesperson. He did not participate in the two open media training sessions during the week.
The Miami starters were: Oscar Ustari, David Martinez, Ian Fray, Allen, Marcelo Weigandt, Sergio Busquets, Redondo, David Ruiz, Suarez, Tadeo Allende, and Messi.
“It was great to be out there in front of the fans, being back from injury is really nice and getting 60 minutes under my belt,” said Fray, who has overcome four knee injuries.
It was a special game for Ruiz, a Honduran American who was celebrating his 21st birthday on Saturday and playing on his parents’ home soil. Ruiz grew up in Little Havana, where his mother, Alba, owns and runs a Honduran restaurant. The entire Ruiz family traveled to the game.
Ruiz was greeted at the hotel with a birthday cake.
Players who came off the bench included Rocco Rios Novo, Sailor, Fafa Picault, Yannick Bright, Tyler Hall, Julian Gressel, Cremaschi, Robert Taylor, Afonso, Morales, and Gonzalo Lujan, who made his Inter Miami debut.
The team was scheduled to fly back to Fort Lauderdale Saturday night and there were reports Messi would attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday, which would make sense he has endorsement deals with Michelob Ultra and Lay’s potato chips.
Inter Miami concludes its preseason on Friday night in Tampa against Orlando City. The team kicks off the Concacaf Champions Cup on Feb. 18 on the road against Sporting Kansas City and opens the MLS season Feb. 22 at home against New York City FC at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for the season opener are available through TicketMaster.
This story was originally published February 9, 2025 at 12:30 AM.