Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi runs with the ball through the Riyadh Season Cup soccer match between Inter Miami and Al Hilal at Kingdom Area Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024.
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami kicked off their tour of Saudi Arabia by dropping to Al-Hilal 4-3 on Monday.
The Main League Soccer staff is enjoying two video games within the oil-rich kingdom as a part of its preseason preparations, however even Messi couldn’t encourage it to victory in Riyadh.
Whereas Messi acquired on the rating sheet with a second-half penalty, Malcom got here up with the decisive aim to win the match within the 88th.
Al-Hilal had been strongly linked with a transfer for Messi when he left Paris Saint-Germain and have become essentially the most sought-after free agent within the sport final yr.
He in the end opted for a transfer to america to affix David Beckham’s Miami and shortly led the staff to its first trophy, the Leagues Cup.
He and Miami can be hoping for much more success in his first full season and, the preparations embrace an in depth tour with stops in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan.
A possible showdown with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nasser on Thursday is essentially the most anticipated match.
Former Newcastle and Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic put Al-Hilal forward within the tenth minute and Abdullah Al-Hamdan doubled the lead three minutes later.
One other of Miami’s celebrity signings, Luis Suarez, pulled one again however Al-Hilal’s two-goal benefit was restored within the forty fourth by Michael.
Messi’s second got here within the 54th, and a minute later David Ruiz evened the rating.
Simply when Miami seemed to have a draw, Malcom got here up with the winner.
