Argentine great Lionel Messi made it five goals in three appearances for Inter Miami as he scored twice in a 3-1 win over Orlando City in the Leagues Cup on Wednesday night.
Messi scored twice from close range to maintain his 100 percent win record with Miami. It was a welcome change for the club who were winless in 11 league games before the World Cup winner's grand arrival.
The start of the match was delayed by 95 minutes because of a thunderstorm, but once the game got under way, Messi took little time to settle down and opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
The Argentine began his move at the half line and made a run into the box as Robert Taylor chipped the ball over. Messi intercepted and volleyed home from the edge of the six-yard box.
Orlando equalised 10 minutes later when Uruguayan midfielder Cesar Araujo pounced on a loose ball off a corner and fired it home, but Miami restored their advantage three minutes into the second half when Josef Martinez scored from the penalty spot.
Taylor and Martinez then combined in the 72nd minute on a counter-attack to set up Messi for another close-range volley and the unmarked Argentine made no mistake to beat Pedro Gallese in Orlando's goal.
Messi will now head on the road with Miami for the first time in Sunday's match with FC Dallas in Texas, which offers a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament for top flight teams from Major League Soccer and Mexico's Liga MX.
Another former Barcelona star Jordi Alba made his debut for Miami, coming on as a 64th minute substitute and although Araujo had an effort disallowed in stoppage time, there was little trouble in the latter stages for Messi's team.
Miami right-back DeAndre Yedlin said his team played with belief, thanks to the presence of the Argentine.
"He just gives everyone around him confidence. You can give him balls in difficult situations and know he's going to make something out of it.
"The flipside is that for the teams we're playing against, it puts a bit of fear in their eyes. They're dropping back on their heels a bit and that gives us more space to play," he said.
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends