Lionel Messi’s burst of emotion was real, raw and startlingly unexpected.
The Argentine icon had just played the match-winning assist to Marcelo Weigandt, delivering a stunning 2-1 Leagues Cup victory for Inter Miami over Atlas with the last kick of the game. After referee Juan Calderon Perez signaled that his Video Review colleagues ruled the tap-in onside, reversing the original decision on the pitch, the GOAT embraced his friend, countryman and new teammate Rodrigo De Paul in celebration – but flashed the yang to that yin almost as quickly.
For reasons unclear at that moment, Messi spotted Atlas attacker Matías Cóccaro – currently on loan from CF Montréal – nearby and shouted a sudden flurry of trash talk in the Uruguayan’s direction, pumping his fist for punctuation. (For what it’s worth, the two South Americans appeared to be on much better terms shortly thereafter, exchanging a smile and a hug on the Chase Stadium pitch.)
“I’m actually quite surprised that he was so happy to win this game,” Atlas manager and former Atlanta United boss Gonzalo Pineda said in Spanish postgame. “I mean, he's won so much, and he's usually quite sober.”
Miami mean business
Messi’s rush of blood provided a moment worthy of a cup final, but this was just the opening night of Miami’s Leagues Cup 2025 campaign. And therein, perhaps, lies a warning to the rest of the tournament.
“Yesterday, the American teams here hadn’t won. And for us, winning today was important to gain an advantage, because we're competing against each other,” Messi said in Spanish in a pitchside postgame interview with Apple TV.
“It’s a competition we always do well in,” he added. “We did a great job against a great team.”
That palpable hunger was vital for IMCF on this muggy Florida evening as Messi returned to the Herons’ XI after his one-game suspension left him a spectator for their scoreless draw with FC Cincinnati over the weekend.
"Finishing it at the death"
Driven onwards by impressive debutant De Paul, who bossed the midfield for 90 minutes despite having nary a single IMCF training session under his belt, Miami controlled the run of play and were markedly superior in expected goals (3.2-1.6), finally surging into the lead via Messi’s first assist of the night presented Telasco Segovia with a simple finish.
Yet Atlas were ruggedly resilient, soaking up pressure and snatching an 80th-minute equalizer via Rivaldo Lozano that seemed to have earned at least a point for los Zorros.
Like so many other visitors to the Herons’ nest over the past two years, however, the LIGA MX side from Guadalajara had no answer for the latest twists and turns of the Miami telenovela.
“We could have finished it earlier, but we left it until the last play,” De Paul said postgame. “But hey, that adds to the drama, finishing it at the death.”
Hungry for silverware
De Paul is a newcomer to this glamorous South Florida project, yet he’s caught on quickly in more ways than one. The Herons’ Messi era began with breathless Leagues Cup cinema in the late summer of 2023, and while MLS Cup appears to be the most urgent mission with last season’s Supporters’ Shield capture, Javier Mascherano has repeatedly emphasized that IMCF aim to claim every trophy in their reach.
“This is a short competition,” said Miami’s head coach, “where every game is important. It's very important for the format that this competition has, and at the end, clearly there are two teams that want to take the game, and everyone is doing what they can.”
Speaking approvingly of Leagues Cup’s shift in format to maximize cross-border matchups, Messi sounded more than keen to wade back into battle against Mexico’s best, and as he does, so go the Herons.
Their campaign continues on Saturday night vs. Necaxa, who beat Atlanta, 3-1, in one of Wednesday’s other fixtures.
“At the end of the day, we play to win, and that's what this beautiful sport is about,” said Mascherano of his team’s late-breaking euphoria. “We won a game in which we didn't play brilliantly, and at the final second, in an epic way, we were able to win it.
"So that's what the celebration is about. Clearly, we know that this is one more win in our path, but starting [Leagues] Cup in this way is important.”
