![\"Inter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-03-22T182724Z_1807589111_MT1USATODAY28564407_RTRMADP_3_MLS-INTER-MIAMI-CF-AT-NEW-YORK-CITY-FC.j.jpeg\" "\\"Messi")
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Mar 22, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC forward Agust\u0092n Ojeda (26) looks to cross the ball defended by Inter Miami defender Noah Allen (32) during the first half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
BRONX, NY \u2014 Lionel Messi scored a deflected free kick as Inter Miami came from behind to beat New York City 3-2 in a pulsating game at Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon.\n<\/p>\n
In a topsy-turvy encounter, NYCFC briefly appeared set for victory after recovering from an early Gonzalo Luj\u00e1n effort to take the lead through a spectacular Nicol\u00e1s Fern\u00e1ndez Mercau free kick and a well-taken Agust\u00edn Ojeda effort in either half.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Messi, however, restored parity just after the hour mark when his long-range freekick deflected off Fern\u00e1dez Mercau before Micael dos Santos produced a looping header to put the visitors back in front with 16 minutes remaining.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Pascal Jansen\u2019s NYCFC, the result marks a first defeat of the season after a promising run of 10 points from their first four games.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
But NYCFC showed plenty of encouraging signs in a repeat of last season\u2019s Eastern Conference final, which Miami won 5-1.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Yankee Stadium was almost at capacity as the Messi circus rolled into town, with the majority of the crowd sporting Inter Miami pink or Argentina blue-and-white.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Messi gave the partisan support plenty to shout about, registering nine shots on goal throughout an entertaining game. The Argentinian maestro was frustrated for long periods by a combination of Matt Freese and the NYCFC woodwork, but he came up trumps when his side needed him most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jansen credited his side by \u201cmaking a statement\u201d by recovering from conceding that early goal but said his side had looked nervous in the opening minutes.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cComing from a goal down and going up one is, in my opinion, a big statement in a game like this,\u201d Jansen said. \u201cBut they (Inter Miami) still have the quality.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Many of the pink-clad supporters had barely taken their seats when Inter Miami opened the scoring with the first meaningful attack of the game when a Messi corner was cleared only as far as Telasco Segovia at the edge of the New York penalty area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Segovia\u2019s powerful volley ricocheted to the unmarked Luj\u00e1n, who fired a well-taken half-volley beyond Freese to give the visitors the lead on four minutes.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Messi had his first sight of goal moments later, forcing Freese into a smart, diving save with a whipped effort inside the area.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
With Inter Miami in the groove and Messi bringing Yankee Stadium to a crescendo with every touch, it looked set to be a long afternoon for Jansen\u2019s side, but it wasn\u2019t long before the hosts leveled the score on 17 minutes \u2013 in spectacular fashion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fern\u00e1ndez Mercau \u2013 enjoying a sensational start to the season as a makeshift forward \u2013 stood over a free kick after Maxi Moralez was fouled on the edge of the Inter Miami penalty area and sent a sensational curling effort into the back of the net via the underside of the crossbar, leaving Dayne St. Clair completely stranded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jansen was full of praise for his center-forward, who has now scored five goals in his opening five goals in the opening five games of the season.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a nervous start in the first five or ten minutes,\u201d Jansen said. \u201cNico brought us back (level) on the scoreboard. That\u2019s a real statement of his quality and his personality.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It would not be the last time that an Argentinian player struck the woodwork in an entertaining opening half. Luckily for NYCFC, neither effort ended up in the back of the net.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Messi was twice thwarted by the uprights in the final 15 minutes of the half, striking the inside of the post from a long-range effort on 31 minutes, with Freese beaten all ends up.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
He came even closer on 42 minutes, curling against the crossbar from 25 yards with Freese once again nowhere near the effort. The NYCFC keeper was up quickly to deny Mateo Silvetti from a close-range follow-up, however.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But aside from a flurry of Messi sighters throughout the half, the hosts fully deserved to go in level at the break, regularly producing slick moves that sliced through the Miami defense.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
They might have gone in ahead as well when Moralez drove straight through the heart of the Miami defense on 35 minutes, but the veteran playmaker shot straight at St. Clair from the edge of the area under little pressure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jansen\u2019s side hit the front 14 minutes into the second half when Ojeda raced onto an exquisite Moralez pass and finished coolly beyond the onrushing St. Clair to send the home crowd into raptures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But barely two minutes later, it was the much larger contingent of away supporters who were celebrating as Messi almost immediately extinguished the NYCFC lead, albeit through a huge stroke of luck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His long-range free kick did not look like causing Freese any problems, but an unfortunate touch from Fern\u00e1ndez Mercau gave the NYCFC keeper no chance.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Fern\u00e1ndez Mercau had an opportunity to immediately atone for that deflection but saw a close-range effort smothered by St. Clair from a tight angle.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
The visitors hit the front again on 74 minutes when Noah Allen picked out Micael with a delightful floated cross to the back post, with the Miami defender sending an inch-perfect looping header across Freese and into the top corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The home crowd was incensed moments later when St. Clair rushed out to collect a Moralez through ball and appeared to carry the ball out of the area. Referee Armando Villarreal judged that the \u2018keeper had kept the ball in the area, with VAR sticking with the on-field decision. Replays failed to show conclusive evidence that St. Clair had handled outside the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, some angles appeared to suggest St. Clair had handled outside the area, with NYCFC captain Thiago Martins stating that the decision \u201clooks bad for the league.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Jansen\u2019s side desperately pushed for a route back into the game in the final quarter-hour but could not apply a finishing touch to several promising situations.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Substitute Talles Magno looked set to equalize on 90 minutes only to be denied by a last-gasp David Ayala block from close range before St. Clair denied Aiden O\u2019Neill after the NYCFC midfielder found himself unmarked at the back post during a late corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The visitors ultimately held on to move level on points with NYCFC, with both sides locked on 10 points in the Eastern Conference.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n