Lionel Messi (38, Inter Miami) has once again made history in world soccer.
Inter Miami (United States) defeated Porto (Portugal) 2-1 in the second group stage match of Group A of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup held on the 20th (Korea time) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, marking their first victory in the tournament.
After drawing 0-0 with Al Ahly (Egypt) in the first match, Miami secured 4 points with this victory, forming a leading position in the group along with Brazil's Palmeiras. Meanwhile, Porto remains in 3rd place with 1 draw and 1 loss (1 point), facing pressure to advance to the tournament.
The opening goal belonged to Porto. In the 8th minute of the first half, Mario drew a foul from Allen in the box, and after a VAR review, the penalty kick was successfully converted by Samu Aguero.
Miami, having finished the first half at 0-1, changed the momentum right at the start of the second half. In the 2nd minute of the second half, Segovia finished off a cross from Weigandt with a right-foot shot to equalize. Seven minutes later, Messi flipped the game on its head. He scored from a free kick awarded just outside the box with a fantastic left-footed kick, hitting the upper part of the net.
Porto attempted to counterattack with substitutions bringing on Gomes and Borges, but their finishing was lacking. Aguero's header and shot both went wide of the goal, and no equalizer was found even during the 7 minutes of additional time.
On that day, Messi's free kick marked his sixth career goal in the Club World Cup. He was named Player of the Match (POTM), and Miami made a significant record as the first team from North America to achieve a comeback victory on the Club World Cup stage.
Messi set yet another record, becoming the first player in soccer history to reach 1,250 career offensive points. In other words, he has once again made history in world soccer.
With this goal, Messi recorded his 866th career goal and was in the midst of achieving 384 assists, making him the first player to reach an astounding 1,250 offensive points.
Meanwhile, in this match, Messi not only scored 1 goal but also created 2 chances, had 4 touches in the opponent's box, completed 2 successful dribbles, made 7 passes in the attacking zone, successfully tackled 1 time, and achieved 1 block, demonstrating his presence throughout the match.
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