Messi scores two goals to lead Inter Miami to 3-1 Leagues Cup win over Orlando City

Anyone who thinks Lionel Messi came to Inter Miami to vacation and coast was not watching the team’s 3-1 Leagues Cup victory against Orlando City on Wednesday night.

Not only did the Argentine star score twice, bringing his total to five goals in his first three games, but he picked up his first yellow card, worked the referee much of the first half, hip checked Cesar Araujo off the ball and then jawed with Araujo all the way into the DRV PNK Stadium tunnel at halftime. When he went down after a foul with an apparent nose injury, he popped back up and stayed in the game.

With the win, Miami advanced to the Round of 16, where it will face FC Dallas on Sunday at Toyota Stadium.

The Miami vs Orlando cross-state rivalry is nowhere near the level of El Clasico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, but Messi played with the same intensity Wednesday as he did during so many of those memorable Spanish showdowns.

Messi has been in South Florida less than a month, and already he seemed deeply invested in the spicy matchup against Orlando.

He scored the first goal of the game in the seventh minute after bringing down a Robert Taylor chip with his chest in front of the goal and volleying it into the net from six yards out. The near-sellout crowd of 20,181, which waited out an hour-and-a-half weather delay, erupted and chanted “Messi! Messi!” as pink smoke bombs went off in the north stands.

Orlando tied it up 10 minutes later when Araujo right-footed the rebound off a Drake Callender save of an Ivan Angula shot following a corner kick. The score remained 1-1 at halftime, and as the team headed into the tunnel, Messi and Araujo exchanged words and bumped into each other.

Well into the second half, Miami held a 71 percent to 29 percent edge in possession and many of those passes went through Messi.

Miami took a 2-1 lead on a Josef Martinez penalty kick. Key Biscayne teenager Benjamin Cremaschi fed the ball to Martinez into the box, and the Venezuelan went down. Orlando’s Antonio Carlos was called for the foul, his teammates protested, but a penalty kick was called. Messi could have taken the PK, but deferred to Martinez, who converted with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.

Then, in the 72^nd minute, Messi had another magical moment. Taylor sent a cross to Martinez, who settled the ball with his chest and rather than take the shot, saw Messi unmarked and delivered a short chip that Messi slammed into the bottom left corner.

Asked about Messi’s five goals in such a short time, Inter Miami coach Tata Martino smiled and said: “He makes difficult things look easy. We are talking about a player who at the highest level of competition scored 40 goals in a season, so it is not illogical that he would score five goals in three games. We keep trying to come up with superlatives for him. He is the best in the world and he came here to compete.”

Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja was in no mood to sing Messi’s praises after the game. He disputed the penalty kick call and felt Messi should have received a second yellow card for the hip check.

“With all the attention, today was a circus,” Pareja said. “The PK was unbelievable. If the VAR was here, we have to be honest and go see it. The game deserved it. Those calls were unjust, had an influence, we are very frustrated, and we can’t hide it under the furniture...Yes, we have seen the progression of the Miami team and Messi’s addition to the team, but we have to be fair, too.”

Asked about Pareja’s comments, Martino said “I am not going to give my opinion on what Oscar Pareja said in his press conference. I respect his opinion, but we have to look forward having won our third game in a row so that is our focus.”

Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba made his long-awaited debut, coming off the bench in the 64^th minute to replace Noah Allen. Diego Gomez, the young Paraguayan midfielder who signed last week, also got his first minutes.

“He gives everyone confidence around him,” DeAndre Yedlin said of Messi’s influence on the team. “You know you can give him balls in difficult situations and he’ll make something out of it. On the flip side, for the teams we’re playing against it puts a little bit of fear in their eyes so they’re on their heels a bit more, dropping back and that gives us a little more space to play.”

Taylor added: “It’s very fun to play with Lionel and Sergio Busquets, they bring new energy to everyone on the team. I watched him play all my life, so we all know what be can do on the ball and what kind of runs he makes.”

Fifteen minutes before the scheduled kickoff, as if on cue, a dark gray cloud rolled over DRV PNK Stadium, lightning filled the sky and the dreaded and all-too-familiar message flashed on the jumbo scoreboards: “WEATHER DELAY. LIGHTNING HAS BEEN REPORTED IN THE AREA. PLEASE EXIT THE SEATING BOWL AND SEEK SHELTER.”

The crowd huddled underneath the stadium and waited. There was no way they were leaving. More than half of them showed up in Messi No. 10 shirts – Argentina national team shirts, Inter Miami shirts, and even some Barcelona shirts. They paid good money for a chance to see Messi and friends up close, and he delivered once again.