Messi barely had to run as Inter Miami smashed Charlotte FC in Leagues Cup

Messi’s not even having to try very hard at this point

Inter Miami’s move to add Lionel Messi is going so well, the Argentine icon barely even has to run for them to win.

Miami made light work of a Leagues Cup quarterfinal against Charlotte FC, winning 4-0 in a game where Messi was able to more or less just hang out. One of his rare runs resulted in yet another goal, but for large spells Messi…let’s say he was conserving his legs for future matches.

Why run if you don’t have to, right? The guy has done plenty of work drawing Apple TV subscribers, he’s earned an easy day at the office. The visitors poured everything into preventing easy passes to Messi, but unfortunately for Charlotte, Miami had 10 other players who had plenty of room to keep the good times rolling at DRV PNK Stadium.

Miami has scored early in every match the legend has started, and sure enough, it was just 12 minutes before Josef Martínez fired home a penalty kick. Messi wasn’t directly involved — Miami’s Dixon Arroyo got chopped down after Charlotte struggled to clear for a long spell — but the entire sequence began with Messi dropping deep to find Jordi Alba’s penetrating run.

Robert Taylor doubled the lead in the 32nd minute, and again Messi just had to generally be in the area rather than getting truly involved. His run did distract Charlotte enough to give DeAndre Yedlin a big opening to roll the ball to Taylor for an easy finish, but Charlotte’s willingness to go all-in on cutting Messi out of the game seemed to backfire as the rest of Miami’s players were given acres of space.

With Charlotte bringing some attackers on and opening up a bit, Messi occasionally got himself into the mix, eventually helping to compound Charlotte’s misery in the 78th minute.

Seconds after Patrick Agyemang bounced a header down and up over the bar at one end, Messi finally had room to operate between the lines. He pushed forward, drawing defenders before slipping Diego Gómez wide left, and the Miami newcomer’s low cross was diverted over the line by the unfortunate Adilson Malanda.

Finally, Messi got himself a goal that required a little bit of a jog. Having noticed that the visitors had absolutely nothing left to give, Messi trotted forward after his attempt to play Leo Campana through didn’t quite pan out.

Charlotte just stood by and watched Campana go recover the ball after their intervention, and the Ecuador striker fed Messi — somehow once again unmarked despite being, you know, Messi — to send Miami fans home with one more goal.

That casual finish made Messi the competition’s leading scorer, with eight in five games, and has the Herons within sight of a trophy that seemed completely impossible just a few weeks ago.

In the semifinal against the Philadelphia Union on Tuesday night, he might even have to sprint a few times.

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