On the morning of February 3 (Vietnam time), Messi played about 77 minutes on the field, but showed his class with 3 assists for his teammates to score, helping Inter Miami beat Sporting San Miguelito Club with a score of 3-1 in Panama.

This was Inter Miami’s first regular-time win of the preseason, following two penalty shootout wins over Club America and Universitario. Messi continues to leave his mark with top-class performances and is gradually reaching his best form ahead of the 2025 season.

Coach Mascherano arranged Messi and Suarez to play as the highest strikers in Inter Miami’s 4-4-2 formation. Newcomer midfielder Tadeo Allende and returning young star Benjamin Cremaschi were also named in the starting lineup, alongside veteran goalkeeper Ustari, defender Jordi Alba and midfielder Sergio Busquets.

The home team Sporting San Miguelito played more energetically and determinedly in the first half, they soon took a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute thanks to Ayarza. At the end of the first half, Inter Miami increased their attack under the leadership of Messi. The 37-year-old Argentinean played deeper in this match, to create attacks and scoring opportunities for his teammates.

In the 45+1 minute, from a situation that created an opportunity from the back line, Messi helped defender Marcelo Weigandt have an assist for Cremaschi to score the equalizer 1-1.

In the second half, Messi’s brilliant performance continued as he accelerated with a series of beautiful attacking moves. Thanks to that, Inter Miami created an overwhelming position against their opponent Sporting San Miguelito.

The Argentine legend continuously made beautiful arrangements for Suarez and David Ruiz to have 2 assists for new players Allende and striker Fafa Picault to score in the 48th and 64th minutes to reverse the score to win 3-1.

Having achieved the goal, coach Mascherano took Messi off in the 77th minute to replace him with 18-year-old Santiago Morales. Meanwhile, Suarez, Jordi Alba and Busquets all played the entire match.

After this match, Inter Miami has another overseas tour match against Olimpia Club in Honduras taking place at 8am on February 9. The final match of the training camp, Inter Miami meets Orlando City SC at Raymond James Stadium with a capacity of up to 75,000 spectators, taking place at 7:30am on February 15.

Inter Miami will play their first official match of the 2025 season against Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup round 1 at 8:00 a.m. on February 19. According to coach Mascherano, he hopes Messi and his teammates will be in the best form and fitness before entering the first official matches, and start the 2025 MLS season with a home match against New York City FC at 2:30 a.m. on February 23.