Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez score but Inter Miami remain winless in preseason

After being held scoreless in its first two preseason games, Inter Miami exploded for three goals — including a Lionel Messi penalty kick and Luis Suárez’s first for the Herons — but still fell 4-3 to Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal in Monday’s friendly at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

Al Hilal, which was without injured Brazilian superstar Neymar — Messi and Suárez’s former strike partner with Barcelona — ran out to a 2-0 first half lead on goals by Abdullah Al-Hamdan and former Fulham and Newcastle forward Aleksandar Mitrović.

Suarez pulled one back for Miami but Al Hilal restored the Saudis’ cushion shortly before halftime. The visitors took over after the intermission, with Messi converting from the spot and then setting up 19-year-old Miami native David Ruiz’s spectacular equalizer:

Unfortunately for the visitors, it wasn’t enough for a share of the spoils as Al Hilal scored an 88th minute winner.

Here are a few quick thoughts on the match.

Play of the game

Ruiz’s golazo is the easy answer. But it might not have happened if Suarez hadn’t kept the Herons in the match before things got away from them.

Jordi Alba started the play by releasing Julian Gressel, another offseason addition for coach Tata Martino, behind Al Hilal’s back line. Gressel controlled the pass and then fed a wide-open Suarez at the far post for the tap-in.

The tally was initially flagged for offside, but the on-field decision was overturned following a review by the video assistant referee. It felt like Suárez’s goal wouldn’t matter when Michael made it 3-1 before the first half was over, but it ended up being huge. And after being held scoreless in his first two appearances for his new team following the 37-year-old’s arrival this winter from Gremio in Brazil, it was an important goal for Suárez, too.

Turning point

The home side was cruising after again taking a two-goal lead. That totally changed during a two-minute span in the second half that began with Messi reducing the deficit by one from 12 yards:

Al Hilal had no answers after Ruiz leveled, and as the clock ticked toward 90 minutes the highly entertaining contest seemed destined to end in a 3-3 tie. But with Messi having already been substituted from the match, the hosts got the goal they needed to claim the victory when another one-named Brazilian, striker Malcom, nodded home past keeper Drake Callender to seal the win.

Key stat

Considered an MLS Cup contender this year, Miami has failed to win any of its three preseason games so far. But while losing on a late goal after clawing their way back from 2-0 and then 3-1 down must be hugely frustrating for Messi & Co., it can’t overshadow the fact that this was a much improved performance by Martino’s team. 

Al Hilal is in the middle of the Saudi Pro League season. They were playing in their own stadium, in front of a large and partisan crowd. Meantime, Miami is still more than three weeks away from kicking off the 2024 MLS campaign and was still shaking off the grueling, almost 7,500-mile flight to the Middle East. They are still not fully fit, and they’re still integrating key newcomers like Gressel and Suárez, which will take time. All things considered, this wasn’t a poor showing for Miami — or MLS —at all.

[Related: Messi-Ronaldo rivalry is ending, but one between MLS and Saudi Pro League is just beginning]

What’s next for Inter Miami

Nothing less than the highest-profile club friendly in recent memory. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the greatest players ever, and for a decade matches between the former’s Barca and the latter’s Real Madrid were much-watch affairs even for casual soccer fans. All told, the pair have met at the club or international level 36 times before, most recently a year ago when Messi and then-employer Paris Saint-Germain beat Ronaldo’s Al Nassr 5-4.

On Thursday, the two living legends could square off for the final time. Ronaldo’s status for that exhibition isn’t known; he’s nursing a minor injury that last week forced Al Nassr to reschedule a pair of friendlies in China. If the Portuguese superstar is available, though, the match will be a treat for fans of the sport around the globe.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.

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