Lionel Messi is only a week in his 2025 season and has already directed opponents outdated in the Major League Soccer.
He played three official games against MLS enemies this year; He scored or created four goals, including a banger on Tuesday evening against Sporting Kansas City.
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He played at temperatures below zero And at home in southern Florida, during the CONCACAF Champions Cup and in the championship, at full power and with its team at 10 men. He turned away from the crowds of defenders, intelligent passes caressed and found the back of the net with both feet.
He is 37 years old, he was in 38 years in June, but his first exploits left no doubt: in the 21st year of his professional career, the goatI still have it.
There are warnings, because there are always warnings in February in MLS. Messi's legs are fresh, much cooler than they will be in the fall. And its 2025 sample size is still very small.
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Oh, and his opponent in two of the three games, Sporting KC, seems terrible. It left Messi Free at the top of the box on Tuesday and fired him timidly to align his half-volley. Half an hour later, he conceded a third comic goal to Luis Suárez, via a sliced authorization and a ghost header. Inter Miami won the 4-1 two-legged draw, with ease, and will take place to play the Jamaican club rider in 16 years.
On Saturday, the New York City FC also lost track of Messi. But at some point, fixing the errors is silly; The common theme here, the thread connecting all the warnings, is the man who punishes all these defective enemies.
Against NYCFC, everything he needed was a slight turn of the head of a defender and a slight scale of concentration; Messi shaped behind this defender, took a pass from Jordi Alba to Stride and distributed his first decisive campaign pass within five minutes.
Inter Miami spent most of this game to work after Tomás Aviles saw the red in the 23rd minute. The NYCFC has made its way with the favorites of the MLS Cup and took an advance of 2-1 in the middle of the second half. Visitors should have really won by several goals, given their digital advantage.
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Instead, at the 100th minute, Messi led to a space pocket and did Messi things.
He also won a yellow card to have gone to a ref. He won a fine For grabbing the neck of an assistant coach of the NYCFC. He plays with an edge, just as he Made in QatarJust as he did his best throughout his unrivaled career – including here in the United States.
In 2024, he won the MVP despite the missing half of the MLS season. In 2025, if his health resisted and his schedule remains manageable, he could erase all kinds of championship records.
And at the end, it will be six months from a sixth World Cup. He has not yet committed to playing until 2026. But if he plays like that, he will be very capable.
