“Follow the journey of Lionel Messi and Inter Miami as they face a 4-3 defeat against Al Hilal in their preseason tour in Saudi Arabia. Explore the challenges, key moments, and aspirations of the team, featuring insights into the football legends Messi, Beckham, and Ronaldo.”
RIAD, Saudi Arabia — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami kicked off their tour in Saudi Arabia with a 4-3 defeat against Al Hilal on Monday.
The MLS club arrived in the oil-rich kingdom as part of their preseason preparations, but the presence of the Argentine star couldn’t prevent the stumble in Riyadh.
Messi made his mark on the scoresheet by scoring in the second half, but Brazilian player Malcom secured the winning goal in the 88th minute.
Al Hilal was one of the top contenders in Saudi Arabia for Messi’s next career move when he decided to leave Paris Saint-Germain, making him one of the most coveted free agents last year.
At the end of the day, he ultimately chose to move to the United States to join David Beckham’s Miami team and quickly led the team to conquer their first trophy, the Leagues Cup.
Both he and the team are hoping for more success in their first full season, and the preparation includes an intense tour with stops in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Japan. They had just played friendly matches in El Salvador and Dallas.
The most anticipated match is the one on Thursday against Al Nasser, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, former forward for Newcastle and Fulham, put Al Hilal ahead in the 10th minute, and Abdullah Al-Hamdan increased the lead three minutes later.
Luis Suárez, the Uruguayan star who recently signed with Miami, narrowed the gap. But Al Hilal restored their two-goal advantage with a header from Brazilian Michael in the 44th minute.
Just as Miami seemed to settle for a draw, Malcolm scored the decisive goal.
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