Lionel Messi plays only 7 minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo none as Inter Miami lose 6-0 in Saudi Arabia before Hong Kong visit
- Argentina star sits on bench with hamstring issue for match against Al Nassr, coming on briefly at the end after discomfort in previous match
- Miami routed by Al Nassr despite the Saudi club being without the already injured Ronaldo, as ‘last dance’ between him and Messi fails to materialise
The planned showdown between Lionel Messi and old rival Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia was reduced largely to spectating, as the Argentine icon’s club Inter Miami suffered a 6-0 rout while he nursed a hamstring issue on the bench.
Al Nassr managed better without their star man than Miami as they inflicted a heavy defeat on the American team, who held Messi back after he felt discomfort during their previous match on Monday, a 4-3 loss to Al Hilal.
The 36-year-old Messi was initially not expected to play at all in the second match. It had been billed in advance as a potential “last dance” with former Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, 38, his adversary for years when Messi played for Barcelona, but the face-off of the two veterans did not materialise.
The Miami squad flew straight after the match to Hong Kong, where they will arrive early afternoon local time. Their co-owner David Beckham had reportedly flown to the city the previous day for a commercial engagement.
On Sunday at Hong Kong Stadium, they will face a Hong Kong team made up of players from the local Premier League, after staging a public training session on Saturday evening at the same venue.
In Thursday’s match in Riyadh, with Messi not starting after being named only among Inter’s substitutes, Al Nassr stunned their Major League Soccer opponents by scoring three times in the first 12 minutes.
Messi visits Hong Kong: when is Inter Miami match, tickets, TV, itinerary
The onslaught began after three minutes, when Ronaldo’s fellow Portuguese attacker Otavio cut inside and rifled into the top corner, before Brazilian midfielder Anderson Talisca finished off a slick passing move from close range.
Former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte then scored from his own half as he caught out Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender with a quickly taken free-kick.
The second half brought further goals for Talisca, from the penalty spot, Mohammed Maran, who headed in, and Talisca again as he collected a long ball over the high Miami defensive line to complete his hat-trick with 15 minutes left.
Messi entered the fray for the closing minutes, while Ronaldo was in the stands for the encounter at the Kingdom Arena, which formed part of the Riyadh Season Cup.
Inter are on a tightly scheduled preseason tour that had begun with a goalless draw away to El Salvador and a 1-0 defeat by Dallas, with the first of those including a debut for their new signing, Messi’s close friend and former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez.
The globe-trotting jaunt continues in Hong Kong and Japan before the tour party return to the United States.
