On their first tour to Peru, Inter Miami brought the full quartet of Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. This has created a fever among fans here, with thousands giving a warm welcome to these top players since they first arrived in the capital Lima, Peru, on January 28.

Tickets for the match were put on sale by Club Universitario just days before the game, but they sold out quickly. The 80,000-capacity Estadio Monumental was completely full, including many young Messi fans who came to the stadium to see their idol play.

Coach Javier Mascherano has fielded Inter Miami’s strongest lineup, with Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba as starters. New arrival Tadeo Allende from Celta Vigo (Spain) has just completed the paperwork to apply for a work visa in the US, has arrived in Peru and is already on the field to play with the official team.

Messi became the center of attention for Peruvian fans in the stands. But on the field, the 37-year-old Argentine player did not play as well as usual. He remains the one who triggers every attack of Inter Miami. But the Universitarios players showed that they were not easy opponents. Peru’s most successful team proved to be a worthy rival for Inter Miami, which had big stars, playing on equal terms and with mutual concessions.

Inter Miami dominated the first half, creating many chances, but Messi was always heavily marked by his opponents, which made it difficult to create any dangerous goal situations. Meanwhile, Suarez once scored against Universitario, but the referee ruled it out for offside.

In the second half, Messi, Suarez, Jordi Alba, Busquets and even new player Allende were substituted by coach Javier Mascherano from the 72nd minute onwards to make way for the youngsters. Star player Benjamin Cremaschi, who has just returned from the US team, was also allowed on the pitch.

The reason is that this is only the second friendly of the pre-season, while Inter Miami still has many matches ahead of them. Maintaining strength and gradually helping these famous players to get into the best physical condition and form before entering official matches is a priority for coach Javier Mascherano.

With the score tied at 0-0 after 90 minutes of play, Inter Miami went into a penalty shootout with Club Universitario to determine the winner. In the 11th minute, coach Javier Mascherano’s team won by a score of 5-4.

This is the second consecutive match that Inter Miami has won on penalties in preseason training, after beating Club América 3-2 (2-2 draw in regulation time) on January 19. In this match, Messi scored the equalizer in the first half.