FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In Lionel Messi‘s third game with new club Inter Miami on Wednesday, coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino saw a little extra from his superstar — and his team’s opponents.
Messi scored twice in Miami’s 3-1 victory over local rivals Orlando City in the Leagues Cup round of 32, while also receiving a yellow card and some rough treatment from opposition players in a feisty contest.
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“The match the other day [vs. Orlando] was completely different from the previous ones, that is true,” Martino said at a news conference Friday. “There was more friction.
“I attribute it to the fact that there were many South Americans on the pitch. … And obviously there is a respect for the best player in the world, but the reality is that over the 90 minutes each team wants to win. And so it was deserving of him to play on the field the way that he did, and it served up notice to say, ‘Our team is here, watch out.'”
It has been a superb start to the latest chapter of the Argentine legend’s career, with five goals in three games, but all of those contests were at home.
Sunday’s Leagues Cup round of 16 game at FC Dallas will be the first test for Messi away from DRV PNK Stadium, where Martino faced the media before the trip to Texas.
