Lionel Messi with his team inter Miami faced Saudi pro league table topper al-Hihal and it did not turn in his favor.
In Short
When the news was made official by inter Miami and Al-Hihal management of this Riyadh cup in which three teams, Al-Nasar, Al-Hilal and inter Miami will play, internet was blown away. for obvious reasons. It will be Ronaldo vs Messi again. But before that everyone was overlooking the strong side Al-Hilal.
Match summery:
As match started al-hihal showed why they were the best in Saudi pro league, they scored 2 goals under fifteen minutes. Mitrović scored first goal of the match with the beautiful ball control.
Goal: Aleksandar Mitrovic | Al-Hilal 1-0 Inter Miamipic.twitter.com/bJ4AqOI4BP
— FootColic ⚽️ (@FootColic) January 29, 2024
Messi’s team looked confused but soon they gained momentum. Before first half Al-Hilal was leading with 3-1.
Leo Messi’s Goal(watch video)
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) January 29, 2024
But in the second half table turned when Leo Messi got penalty and scored in 54th minute and in the very next minute d. Ruiz scored a beautiful goal assisted by Leo Messi.
Ruiz buries one to level the match in the 55th minute 👏 #AlHilalvsInterMiamiCF | 3-3 pic.twitter.com/UDZ6FdrilZ
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) January 29, 2024
Game was at level till the very last minutes of regular time of 90 minutes, but Malcom scored a beautiful header and sealed victory for al Hihal.
Also Read : MESSI: FIFA Men’s Best Player 2023 Robbed??? Take A Look.
Comparison of Al-Hihal and inter Miami:
Despite having Sergio Busquets, Luis Suárez, jordi alba and the great Leo Messi which sounds like prime Barcelona. Inter Miami failed to make any significant impact in the game, the two goals scored by inter Miami were not very convincing on the other hand al–hilal displayed excellent ball control and temperament while scoring four goals. Defense was a point of discussion for inter Miami, they have quality players in front but they lack in defense while Al-Hilal is a balance team.
Fans of Riyadh
Although the game was played on beautiful the home ground of al-Hihal which is kingdom arena, they welcomed Leo and team with warmth. But as soon as the game started they were typical football fans.
Level of Saudi pro league
Nowdays it is a point of discussion whether Saudi league Is better than other leagues or to be more precise, is it a better league than MLS?? Answer to this question may vary, for obvious reasons. And that is two goats, messi and ronaldo itself. well al-hihal is the table topper right now in Saudi league and inter Miami recently won a trophy in it’s league against nashwills. And after today’s game a neutral side will say Saudi league is better then MLS. Be it ball control, passing, game awareness and coordination, al- hilal looked better than messi’s inter Miami.
Messi vs Ronaldo, the last dance??
Whenever football rivalries will be remembered this one particular rivalry will always be in front. Messi vs Ronaldo!!! And again Saudi Arabia’s aim to attract people from around the world by sports power is not hidden from anyone. Ronaldo’s transfer from Europe to Saudi Arabia was looked as a mistake by many experts at first place. But in summer transfer window almost whole Europe came to Saudi,, some names are sadio mane, Marcelo Brozović, seko fofana, Mitrović, Milinković, ruben neves, Roberto Firmino, alex saint maxim and so on. In the same line Saudi’s next step was to arrange a match between Ronaldo and Leo Messi. What else could be bigger than this in football world??
So this Riyadh cup was all about Messi vs Ronaldo. On Feb 1st, Al-Nasar vs inter miami will be played and all eyeballs will be in that match. It will be interesting to see these two aging goats once again. Ronaldo is in excellent form with highest goal scorer in 2023 and won Arab club championship for his team al-nasar. He was injured for that china tour which was postponed. Hope for his quick recovery and Let’s see if Ronaldo can continue his form against Messi in this last dance.
