Superstar Son Heung-min (34, LAFC) and soccer god Lionel Messi (39, Inter Miami) recorded a blockbuster turnout for their first-ever matchup.
LAFC crushed Inter Miami CF 3-0 in an MLS match at the LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on the 21st (local time). A crowd of 75,673 filled the stands, setting the club's record for largest home attendance. The MLS office called it "the match that drew the largest crowd in the world this weekend."
All attention before the match was focused on the Son–Messi matchup. The official head-to-head between the two superstars who shared their primes on the European stage was only the third in total. They met twice in the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League group stage; Messi had the edge with two goals in two matches, and Son recorded one assist.
But this time was different. In the 37th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min opened the scoring flow by assisting David Martinez's opener, and later goals by Denis Bouanga (73rd) and Nathan Ordaz (in stoppage time) followed, completing LAFC's emphatic win. With this victory, Son's head-to-head record with Messi is balanced at one win, one draw and one loss. In particular, it carried the symbolic meaning of being his "first win against Messi."
The match showed a stark contrast between possession and outcome. Inter Miami CF dominated possession with 68.4%, but LAFC posed far more real threat. Expected goals (xG) were 3.5 for LAFC and 0.9 for Miami, a big difference. The quick penetrations by Son, Bouanga and Martinez repeatedly unsettled Miami's defense.
By contrast, Messi's movements were intermittent flashes and he did not produce decisive moments. LAFC coach Marko Doš Santos said he changed the formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 during the match to protect the midfield and gamble on transitions in space. The strategy paid off exactly as planned.
Against the backdrop of a historic attendance record, the symbolic duel between Son Heung-min and Messi ended in a thorough victory for Son Heung-min.
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