Messi, Inter Miami on road Sunday at LA Galaxy, hoping to build on season-opening win

Lionel Messi takes his traveling Inter Miami show to Los Angeles this weekend for a highly anticipated Sunday night game against the Galaxy.

Although both teams finished second-to-last in their respective MLS conferences last season, the 8:30 p.m. match up at Dignity Health Sports Park was the hottest selling MLS game on StubHub thus far. Tickets were going for anywhere from $270 to $7,500.

The main attraction is Messi, as it is everywhere the Argentine star goes, and there is a lot of interest in his all-star supporting cast of Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba. Miami is coming off a 2-0 home win over Real Salt Lake in its season opener Wednesday.

Messi, who was slowed by an adductor injury during the team’s preseason world tour, had an outstanding game, was involved in both goals, and told coach Tata Martino afterward that he felt fully fit.

Although neither Messi nor Suarez scored against Salt Lake, they had moments of potential magic, and will be hungry to score against a Galaxy defense that allowed a league-high 67 goals last season.

One Galaxy player who is quite familiar with Messi’s influence on a game is Spanish midfielder Riqui Puig, who came up through the FC Barcelona youth program and played for Barcelona from 2018 to 2022. He played alongside Messi, Busquets, Alba and Suarez.

“Obviously, he is the best player in history, and best in this league, he already showed Wednesday against Salt Lake how fit he is and how well he’s playing,” Puig said of Messi. “We have to be very careful with the best player in the world.”

John McCarthy, the former Inter Miami goalkeeper, is now the starting keeper with the Galaxy. He moved there this season from Los Angeles FC, where he made 25 appearances last season and allowed 31 goals (1.24 per game). He is eager to face Miami.

“The atmosphere is going to be great, and those are the kinds of games you want to play in,” McCarthy said. “Facing Messi will be cool. You look forward to those games because you don’t know how many times you’ll get to play players of that stature, and there’s multiple guys on that team.”

Asked if he would try to trade jerseys with Messi, McCarthy said: “The most important thing is winning the game.”

The Galaxy’s Japanese center back Maya Yoshida said his team is eager to show it has improved since last season. “I’m very excited to play against these big names,” he said. “This is our home and nobody should enjoy playing in our home. It’s going to be a great atmosphere, for sure, and we have to get the win.”

Since Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham joined the Galaxy as a player in 2007, that club has a reputation for signing high-profile players. Beckham was followed by Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández.

Los Angeles made two big signings this off-season, spending a reported $19 million in transfer fees to acquire Ghanian winger Joseph Paintsil from Belgian club Genk and Brazilian winger Gabriel Pec from Vasco da Gama. It is unknown how much they will be involved in Sunday’s game, but both will be available, said coach Greg Vanney.

Martino said he expects to field a similar starting lineup to the one he used on Wednesday.

Messi and Jordi Alba played the full 90 minutes Wednesday night, while Busquets and Suarez were both subbed out just before extra time. Busquets tweaked his ankle late in the game, the same ankle he sprained during the preseason tour, so he was taken out as a precaution, Martino said. Busquets traveled to L.A. and is expected to be available.

Miami centerback Nicolas Freier, who joined Miami on loan from Liga MX team Pumas last month, was unavailable for selection against Salt Lake as he worked his way into full fitness. Martino said he would travel for Sunday’s game and he is listed as questionable.

The rest of the injury report: Drake Callender - Left Ankle (Questionable), David Ruiz - Left Calf (Questionable). Benjamin Cremaschi - Sports Hernia (Out), Facundo Farías - Left ACL (Out), Ian Fray - Left ACL (Out), Franco Negri - Right ACL (Out), Robbie Robinson - Medical Evaluation (Out).

After Sunday’s game Inter Miami returns home to face Orlando City on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.