A perfect storm hit on a picturesque Saturday at Allianz Field.
Minnesota United supporters saw their team win while also witnessing a goal from one of the greatest players of all time in a 4-1 victory on a sunny early-summer day.
Lionel Messi’s goal — which won’t make any of his career highlight reels — gave Loons fans a thrill (and a scare) when he slotted in a shot to cut MNUFC’s lead to 2-1 in the 48th minute.
MNUFC (6-2-4, 22 points) went on to nullify the threat with two more goals and hand Miami (6-2-3, 21 points) only its second loss on the season.
Saturday’s sold-out crowd of 19,710, according to the club, fell short of the Allianz Field record of 19,954 for LAFC in July 2023. The crowd looked like a gender reveal party, with Minnesota’s baby blue vastly outnumbering pink Messi shirts.
Instead of Messi, two first-half goals came from unlikely sources: Minnesota’s wingbacks.
Bongi Hlongwane scored first with a tidy right-footed finish in the 32nd minute. Joaquín Pereyra and Carlos Harvey set up the South African for his first goal of 2025.
Then Anthony Markanich’s header made it 2-0 just before halftime. Michael Boxall’s long throw-in and Nicolas Romero’s flick-on header created the chance for Markanich to score in consecutive MLS games.
Messi got his goal for the thousands in the stands wearing his jersey. He had an easy finish in front of Jefferson Diaz in the 48th minute.
The pressure on Minnesota eased with an own goal from Marcelo Weigandt and a goal from Robin Lod that made it 4-1 in the 68th and 70th minutes.
Three tidbits
Miami, and especially Messi, missed striker Luis Suarez, who was absent for personal reasons Saturday. Suarez, who first played with Messi at Barcelona, has been tied for the MLS lead with six assists. … A handful of Minnesota’s star athletes turned out to see Messi in Minnesota, including the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones and Jordan Addison, the Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, and Taylor Heise from the Frost. … The Wonderwall’s pre-match tifo banner took a shot at the elitism perceived at Inter Miami with the message: “History over hype. Culture over cash.”
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