Messi scores in extra time, Inter Miami beats Cavalier 2-0, advances to Champions Cup QF
Lionel Messi is back, and wasted no time making an impact.
The Argentine legend returned to action for Inter Miami in Jamaica Thursday night after missing three games with muscle fatigue. He came in off the bench at the 53-minute mark in the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 against Cavalier, drawing a huge cheer from the sellout crowd at National Stadium in Kingston.
Then, in extra time, just before the final whistle, he made sure the fans went home with a special memory. He got a through ball from Santi Morales and scored to seal a 2-0 win for Inter Miami and a 4-0 aggregate win in the series. Miami advanced to the quarterfinals against Los Angeles FC.
Miami will play the first leg of the quarterfinal series on the road at LAFC between April 1-3 and the home leg between April 8-10. The dates and kickoff times are TBA.
“We knew Leo wasn’t playing for the last three or four games, obviously, we wanted him to play, but had to find the right moment to send him to the pitch,” said Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano. “He felt very good, he scored, Jamaican people could see him, so it was a great night for everyone.”
Miami held a comfortable 1-0 lead on the night and 3-0 aggregate lead by the time Messi entered the game after a Luis Suarez penalty kick in the 37th minute. Miami won the opening leg 2-0 in Fort Lauderdale last week.
A crowd of 35,000 showed up at National Stadium, and many more fans were still trying to get in late in the night. The game in Kingston was moved from Cavalier’s 3,000-seat home stadium for the occasion. It is the most high-profile match for the club, by far, since it hosted Brazilian legend Pelé and Santos in 1971. The field conditions were choppy and poor on Thursday, but Mascherano said before the game that would not be an excuse as both teams play of the same pitch.
The coach was pleased with his team’s performance Thursday, saying they did a better job containing Cavalier’s young, speedy attackers, and not giving them space in which to run. He also said Miami was not in as much of a hurry to attack, that it played a calmer, more controlled game.
The Miami Starting XI were: Oscar Ustari, Ian Fray, Maxi Falcon, Noah Allen, Jordi Alba, Fede Redondo, Sergio Busquets (captain), Tadeo Allende, Telasco Segovia, David Ruiz and Suarez.
Allende, the Argentine winger who joined Inter Miami this year on loan from Spanish club Celta Vigo, had scored in four consecutive games. Segovia has three goals so far and Suarez, at 38 years old, has four goals and four assists.
Joining Messi on the bench were Leo Afonso, Morales, Benja Cremaschi, Yannick Bright, Gonzalo Lujan, Tomas Aviles, David Martinez, Ryan Sailor, Rocco Rios Novo.
Cremaschi came in at the 17-minute mark when David Ruiz went down with an apparent left hamstring injury. Messi replaced Suarez, Yannick Bright came in for Sergio Busquets at the 53-minute mark. The last subs were in the 75th minute, Aviles for Alba and Morales for Segovia.
The game carried extra meaning for Inter Miami defender Ian Fray, whose family is from Jamaica and whose sister, Marlee, played for the Jamaican national team. Fray expected 20 to 25 family and friends in the stands.
“It means a lot to go back to Jamaica,” Fray said. “I’ve actually been to that stadium before. I went to see Usain Bolt’s last race in Jamaica at that stadium, so it will be pretty cool to go back and play on that field.”
Cavalier’s roster includes two 16-year-olds, two 17-year-olds, two 18-year-olds, one 19-year-old, and five 20-year-olds. Although they won the Jamaican Premier League a few years ago and have been contenders each year since, they had never faced the likes of Messi, Suarez, Busquets and Alba, all of them legends who starred at FC Barcelona.
Their coach, Rudolph Speid, said despite the loss, having the opportunity to host Messi and Inter Miami was monumental for his club and Jamaican soccer.
“It was electrifying,” he said of the atmosphere. “All the persons came here to see Messi in some form or the other. When he came onto the field I made a couple of changes to try and calm everyone down. But, I knew that effect was going to happen. But our performance was nothing to be ashamed of. I think a lot more young players will come out to play the game, which is what you want.”
Inter Miami returns to MLS action Sunday on the road at Atlanta United.
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 8:30 PM.