Lionel Messi left the pitch with about seven minutes remaining, feeling a sense of relief after sparking Inter Miami’s comeback from a two-goal deficit in Saudi Arabia.
And within seconds, a former Barcelona standout – not on Inter Miami’s side – scored the game-winning goal to spoil Inter Miami’s night.
Malcom scored in the 88th minute, and Al Hilal handed Messi and Inter Miami a 4-3 loss in the opening match of the Riyadh Season Cup at Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami play again on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET, but it’s unclear whether archrival Cristiano Ronaldo will play for Al Nassr because of a calf injury.
Messi scored on a penalty kick in the 54th minute, and 19-year-old David Ruiz added a goal one minute later to help Inter Miami storm back from a 3-1 deficit at halftime to tie the match. But Malcom – who played with Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at Barcelona in 2018-19 – spoiled the possibility for a draw.
Luis Suárez started Inter Miami’s scoring in the 34th minute, marking his first goal with the club. It appeared Messi scored one minute later, which would have tied the match at 2 in the first half, but referees determined Suárez was offside to start the sequence.
Aleksandar Mitrović scored in the 10th minute, Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored in the 13th minute for Al Hilal, leaving Messi and Co. in disbelief early.
While Inter Miami was on the cusp of a comeback, Michael rose up for a header to help Al Hilal take a 3-1 lead in the 44th minute before halftime.
As Messi left the pitch in the 88th minute, Inter Miami appeared content with its comeback despite eight offside penalties in its third match of a lengthy, preseason tour.
