Shanyder Borgelin was the unlikely goalscorer as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were kept quiet in a 1-1 draw with Newell's Old Boys.
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Borgelin scoresMessi and Suarez play into second halfMiami set to kick off MLS seasonWatch Inter Miami with the MLS Season PassStream nowUSA Today Sports TELL ME MORE
Thursday's friendly will have felt like a big match for Messi, as he faced his boyhood club for one final tuneup ahead of the MLS season. There's still plenty of talk of Messi someday retiring with Newell's, but on this day, they were opponents as Inter Miami looked to put a difficult worldwide preseason trip behind them.
Messi and longtime Barcelona running mate Luis Suarez played into the second half, coming off in the 60th minute. Joining the fray during that substitution window was Borgelin, who ended up being Miami's goalscorer on the day.
Borgelin, who signed a Homegrown deal with Miami in 2023 before being loaned out to New Mexico United FC midseason, scored just three minutes after coming on, making a big impression with a go-ahead goal.
Unfortunately for Borgelin, he was robbed of a chance to be the hero as a bad giveaway led to a Franco Martin Diaz goal to lead to a 1-1 draw.
Overall, Messi and Suarez each scored just one goal in preseason, a slight concern with the MLS regular season looming.
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What a big goal that was for Borgelin. Because he was on loan for the second half of last season, Borgelin never got a chance to impress Messi and Tata Martino after their arrivals. He certainly made his mark on this match, as the Haitian international showed that he might just be a viable attacking option off the bench if needed.
THE BIG LOSER
Giveaways, giveaways, giveaways… they've plagued Inter Miami's preseason. On Thursday, the culprit was Lawson Sunderland, whose poorly weighted backpass left the Inter Miami defense out to dry. As a fairly inexperienced player, things like that can happen to someone like Sunderland, but Miami have made those types of mistakes too many times this season.
Now, looking ahead to 2024, there are even more worries about the Herons defense.
(C)GettyImagesWHAT COMES NEXT?
The regular season now awaits, as Inter Miami's globetrotting preseason has officially come to an end. Up first is a visit from Real Salt Lake, who will be looking to pull an upset against a Miami team that will be reeling a bit.