Inter Miami 2-1 Porto: Messi free-kick completes second-half comeback
Inter Miami earned their first win at the Club World Cup, with Lionel Messi stealing the headlines once more as he scored the winner.
Lionel Messi led Inter Miami's comeback as they earned a 2-1 victory over Porto at the Club World Cup on Thursday.
Miami struggled to assert themselves in the first half, but two quickfire goals straight after the break saw them earn their first win at the tournament.
Porto took an eighth-minute lead from the penalty spot - a VAR review saw that Noah Allen caught Joao Mario with a late challenge in the box. Samu Aghehowa confidently stepped up, picking out the bottom-left corner, despite Oscar Ustari getting a hand to the ball.
They could have doubled their lead before the break, with Samu forcing Ustari into a sprawling save before Alan Varela struck the post with a long-range drive.
And Miami took advantage of those misses just two minutes after the break. Marcelo Wiegandt clipped an inviting cross into the box, and Telasco Segovia snuck between two defenders to volley an emphatic effort into the roof of the net.
Messi curled a free-kick wide moments later but made no such mistake with his next attempt in the 54th minute. From just outside the D, he bent a wonderful shot into the top-right corner, giving Claudio Ramos no chance.
Porto piled on some late pressure without troubling Ustari, as Miami held on for all three points. The Herons are second in Group A, level on four points with Palmeiras, who beat Al Ahly 2-0 after a storm delay earlier on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Messi provides the magic
Whatever Javier Mascherano said in his half-time team talk had the desired effect for Miami, as a quick start to the second half got the job done.
And though Segovia got them back into the game, it was Messi's 50th Miami goal that will get the headlines as he hit the landmark in just 61 appearances.
And Messi has scored 68 direct free-kick goals for club and country, scoring at least one in 12 different competitions (plus international friendlies).
Porto certainly had their chances, having 14 efforts on goal, though they only managed three on target, two fewer than Miami, who only had six shots overall.
