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Inter Miami star Tomas Aviles was heavily impressed by Lionel Messi's performance in their recent 3-1 win over Nashville in the MLS.
The 36-year-old moved to the United States last summer and made an immediate impact, leading the Herons to their first-ever trophy in the Leagues Cup. While he could not lead them into the MLS playoffs last season, he seems to have a much better chance of doing so this season. Miami are currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference.
Lionel Messi has scored seven goals and provided three assists in just six MLS games for Inter Miami this season. These include the brace and an assist he produced against Nashville on April 21.
After the Herons scored an early own goal to put themselves behind, Lionel Messi scored in the 11th minute to level the game. He provided an assist to Sergio Busquets to put them ahead on the cusp of half-time before sealing the deal from the penalty spot 81 minutes into the game.
His efforts led to the win, impressing his teammate Tomas Aviles, who discussed the legendary Argentine with Miami Herald after the match. He said (via Inter Miami News):
“We know who we have in front of us and we know we can count on them at any moment, in any circumstance, to get us out of difficult situations, like Leo did with that goal. Thank goodness we have him.”
Inter Miami manager Tata Martino provides injury update on Lionel Messi's teammate Diego Gomez
The Herons would have been pleased to secure all three points, thanks to the efforts of their talismanic Argentine playmaker. However, they wouldn't be all smiles, as midfielder Diego Gomez was forced off the pitch in the first half.
The Paraguayan seemed to have suffered a sprain in his ankle, which Tata Martino talked about with reporters after the game. The Herons manager said (via AS):
“He is going to the clinic to get an X-Ray. We saw it clearly, it is an ankle sprain. Now we have to determine whether it’s just a standard sprain or something more serious and affecting the bone. He said his ankle was quite sore, it was swollen, but we can’t make any assumptions."
Martino also mentioned other injury problems the club was dealing with:
“I thought he had injured himself while crossing the ball. We just have to wait. We have had similar issues - it happened to us with Fede Redondo, with Benja (Cremaschi) and now this with Diego. Let’s hope it’s nothing important."
Inter Miami and Lionel Messi will be looking ahead to April 28, when they face New England away from home in the MLS.
