Lionel Messi shines in rare appearance

Lionel Messi took the American soccer world by storm when he joined MLS side Inter Miami last year. And though he’s one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, he rarely makes it onto American airwaves like he did Wednesday night.

After inking a ten-year streaming deal with Apple TV , the MLS linear television exposure is limited to 34 regular season matches on Fox and FS1. And of those 34 matches this season, just two involved Messi’s Inter Miami.

Lucky then, that Fox chose Wednesday’s match between Inter Miami and the Columbus Crew before the season’s start, as it turned out to be a crucial game for Messi’s side.

With a win against Columbus, Inter Miami would secure the MLS Supporters’ Shield with two games left on its regular season schedule. And win they did, in star-studded, dramatic, and high-scoring fashion.

Messi opened the scoring in the 45th minute with a goal that he slid past Columbus Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. But he didn’t stop there. Just five minutes later, Messi put away a free kick to put Inter Miami up 2-0 before halftime.

Columbus forward Diego Rossi would pull one back just one minute into the second half. But just minutes later, Messi’s Inter Miami co-star Luis Suárez would make it 3-1.

Inter Miami would hang on to win the match 3-2, but the game serves as a reminder of just how disappointing it is for fans that 94% of Messi’s MLS games air on Apple TV .

Fox, however, has to be feeling quite fortunate that it chose such a consequential match for Messi’s team. The network’s final MLS regular season broadcast will be a Portland Timbers-FC Dallas match on Sunday evening.

[ X/@FOXSoccer ]

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