On February 16, Beijing time, a high-profile friendly match started as scheduled, against two sides, namely Miami International and Newell's Old Boys, the first team that Messi played for in his career. In the end, the two teams drew 1-1 and put the friendship first.
First, the spirit of the second game was carried out to the end.
It is worth mentioning that in this game, Argentine star Messi ushered in a "full-blooded resurrection". Only 12 days after the suspected refusal to appear due to injury during the China trip, Messi returned to the starting lineup and played very hard for more than 60 minutes.
Even if you don't pay attention to football at all, I believe you have a more or less understanding of this incident under the recent storm. At the beginning of this month, Messi followed the Miami International team to Hong Kong, China, to start a new round of China tour. But in the game against the Hong Kong League All-Star Team, Messi refused to play on the grounds of a groin injury, and after several negotiations in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Messi still did not back down. Tens of thousands of fans who spent a lot of money just to see Messi turned into jokes in the end.
But only 3 days later, Messi came off the bench in the game against Kobe Victory Ship, and the news of Messi's fraudulent injury can be regarded as completely confirmed! Messi, who ended his trip to Asia and returned to Miami, swept away the haze of injury, and in the game against Newell's Old Boys, Messi was directly resurrected and returned to the starting lineup. And in this game, Messi's performance was still very eye-catching, he repeatedly sent exquisite passes for his teammates, and seemed to have found his omnipotent self again.
In the 31st minute, Messi broke into Longtan alone with the ball, and in the face of the encirclement and interception of the opponent's 4 players, Messi still completed a very threatening shot, but unfortunately the ball was slightly off, otherwise the deadlock of the game may have been broken early. After that, Messi also shot with a direct free kick, which once again shocked the opponent's goalkeeper into a cold sweat. In the rematch, coach Martino replaced Messi in the 60th minute, and after the Argentine star went off the pitch, both teams scored a goal to make it 1-1. In the end, Inter Miami drew 1-1 with Newell's Old Boys, ending their last warm-up game before the season with a draw.
It can also be seen from this game that even if Messi is really injured, it has not reached the level that China cannot play. As for why he refused to perform on stage for Chinese fans, I hope that Messi himself can give us an answer one day.