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USMNT legend Jimmy Conrad lavished praise on Lionel Messi following his stunning goal in the Leagues Cup final. It was the Argentina icon's left-footed attempt that gave his side the lead in the first half but was canceled out in the 57th minute.
Eventually, Messi's side triumphed on penalties, but his curler from outside the box stole the show. Speaking about the goal, Conrad wrote on his X (former Twitter) account:
"Never seen anyone consistently take advantage of creating an inch of space and then turning that space into goals and assists like Messi”.
The Leagues Cup victory marked Inter Miami's first-ever trophy in club history. It's not a surprise that the former Barcelona man was at the heart of most of their success during the tournament.
After deciding to move from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to the MLS outfit, Messi has had a brilliant start to life in North America. Scoring his 10th goal in just seven games, the 36-year-old is flying high.
After scoring a stunning match-winning free-kick for the Miami-based outfit against Cruz Arul on his debut, Messi continued to add to his wonder goals at Inter Miami. He scored a goal from 30 yards out in the club's 4-1 win over Philadelphia Union in the competition's semifinal stage.
"Just unplayable"- Nashville coach on Lionel Messi after Leagues Cup final
Following his side's Leagues Cup final defeat to Inter Miami, Nashville coach Gary Smith was full of praise for Lionel Messi. The Argentine icon opened the scoring for his club, following which Nashville equalized in the 57th minute.
After losing out on penalties, Smith admitted that it was the first time he was watching Messi live. Speaking to Apple TV+ about the former Barcelona man, he said (via Hindustan Times):
"This is the first time that I've seen [Messi] play live. And I think what I would take away is that there are moments in the game that he's just unplayable. It's not over a prolonged period. It's not for 90 minutes."
"There are windows, where he just comes to life and it's almost impossible to deal with what he's wanting to do. To be perfectly honest, if it wasn’t for the man of the moment [Messi] in their group, we would have won tonight. The goal that he scored is just incredible," Smith added.
The goal being referred to is the 36-year-old's brilliant left-footed curler from outside the box. Lionel Messi adds yet another wonder goal to his account at Inter Miami since joining this summer.
