Messi turns up, but Miami still lose

Tokyo, February 7

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After leaving fans disappointed in Hong Kong, Lionel Messi put in a 30-minute appearance in Tokyo today in Inter Miami’s latest exhibition match in Asia — although he still left some supporters wanting more.

Messi came off the bench for the final half hour, energised his teammates and probably had the best chance of the match in the 80th minute with two point-blank shots that were both stopped by the Vissel Kobe’s defence.

After a 0-0 draw in regulation, the match went to penalty kicks and Vissel won the shootout 4-3. Messi did not take a penalty, however, which brought jeers from the crowd of 28,614 in Tokyo’s National Stadium, which seats 68,000.

But, it wasn’t close to the level of booing in Hong Kong after Messi stayed on the bench for the entire game with a groin injury. — AP