'Killer assist' Son Heung-min's new history! 'Full-time 0 goals' Messi's Miami win 3-0... The first ever face-to-face win

*This content was translated by AI.

Los Angeles FC (LAFC) ace Son Heung-min (34) won the historic first showdown on the U.S. stage with Lionel Messi (39, Inter Miami). Son Heung-min sounded the winning note against Messi's team for the first time in career history.

Son Heung-min's team LAFC defeated Messi's Miami 3-0 in the first round of the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) at the LA Memorial Coliseum in LA, California at 11:30 a.m. on the 22nd (Korea time).

LAFC, which ranked third in the MLS Eastern Conference last season, announced a perfect start by defeating defending MLS Cup champion Miami in the opening game.

Son Heung-min shined against Miami by playing until the 43rd minute of the second half to help the first winning goal. Miami pulled the reins of the offense after the first run, but failed to chase after going scoreless in the end.

Even Messi was silent. Messi was sluggish, failing to record a single effective shot.

Son Heung-min started as the center striker in the 4-3-3 formation. Buanga and David Martinez were on both wings and worked with Son Heung-min. Marco Delgado, Timothy Tillman and Stephen Eustachio were in charge of the midfield, while Sergi Palencia, Nkosi Tapari, Ryan Porteous and Eddie Segura built the four-back line. The goal was defended by Hugo Lloris.

Miami launched a 4-2-3-1 formation. Messi played as an attacking midfielder. Luis Suarez started the game on the bench. Hermann Wertherame took charge of the one-top attack, and Terrasco Segovia and Matteo Silvetti were on both wings. Rodrigo De Paul and Yannick Bright stood for the third term, while the four backs were played by Noah Allen, Michael, Maximiliano Falcon and Ian Frey. Dane St Clare wore goalkeeper gloves.

LAFC took the lead early in the game. In the 6th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min faced a decisive opportunity. He tried to shoot after beating the goalkeeper, but when the angle did not come out, he gave the pass to Buanga, who was rushing from behind. Buanga's shot was shot over the goal by the opposing goalkeeper.

Messi also exchanged one-two passes with De Paul to seek an empty space for LAFC, but was repeatedly blocked. LAFC easily entered the gate, but was blocked by Miami's hand-to-hand defense and rarely came to fruition.

Geary Son Heung-min stepped up as a troubleshooter. In the 38th minute, Son Heung-min completely destroyed Miami's back space with his signature sharp through pass. Martinez dug into the back space and connected Son Heung-min's pass to score the first goal. It was LAFC's first goal of the season. After losing the point, Messi came down to the half-line and coordinated the game and pulled the reins of the attack. However, without additional points, the first half ended with LAFC leading 1-0.

At the start of the second half, Miami made a change by putting Pacundo Murah in place of Frey. Miami led the mood early in the second half. By increasing ball possession and continuing short passes, he aimed for space between LAFC's tight defense. In the 14th minute of the second half, a dizzying scene was also staged. Messi failed to get up for a while after strongly colliding with LAFC's defense during the attack. After lying on the ground for about two minutes, Messi managed to get up by holding his neck.

After overcoming the crisis, LAFC once again opened the back door of Miami with a counterattack. In the 28th minute, Buanga flooded the back space, trapping with a header to beat the goalkeeper, and calmly pushed his right foot into the empty goal.

Miami put in Suarez in the 36th minute to set up the game. Standing on the two-top with Wertherame, he sought a comeback goal.

In the 41st minute, Son Heung-min almost scored his second attack point. After an exquisite dribble at the gate, he created a perfect opportunity for Buanga. However, Buanga's shot was blocked by the Miami defender. In the 43rd minute, coach Mark dos Santos replaced Son Heung-min.

The gear went all the way to the net gun. LAFC took a three-goal lead in the fourth minute of extra time in the second half when Ordaz rushed into the gate and pushed a right-footed shot. Buanga scored one goal and one assist, helping Ordaz to his goal.

LAFC, which solidified its victory, defended Miami's offensive well the rest of the time, ending the game with a 3-0 complete victory.

This match drew attention as Son Heung-min and Messi faced off for the first time on the U.S. stage. This is the first time Son Heung-min has won against Messi's team.

In the past, the two players have fought twice on the best stage in Europe. In Group B of the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2018-2019 season, Son Heung-min played as a member of Tottenham Hotspur and Messi played as a key player for FC Barcelona. In the first match, Son Heung-min scored one assist and Messi scored two goals, respectively. In the return match held in Barcelona, Son Heung-min started and Messi replaced, respectively, but neither player added an offensive point.

According to the MLS Secretariat, more than 75,000 spectators gathered at the stadium. Initially, there were observations that it was unclear whether the confrontation would take place in the aftermath of Messi's injury, but the situation changed just before the game. The official MLS channel reported, "Messi has been resting recently due to a muscle injury in his lower body, but he returned to team training on the 18th and was ready to start."

Messi, who commanded Europe, is also showing off his unrivaled skills on the U.S. stage by sweeping two MVPs and golden boots, including a league championship and a victory in the Supporters' Shield.

Against this, Son Heung-min was gaining momentum by scoring four offensive points with one goal and three assists in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup against Real Spain in Honduras.

Son Heung-min, who was a central striker at the time, helped through a through pass after breaking through a dribble alone in the 11th minute of the first half, and scored a penalty in the 22nd minute. He then delivered an accurate pass to Buanga in the 24th minute to score a multi-help, and then helped Tillman's goal in the 39th minute to complete a hat trick. Statistical media 'Foot Mob' gave Son a 9.6 rating at the time, and 'Sofas Score' also gave a high score of 9.2.

Son Heung-min, who made his U.S. debut last season, showed off his amazing productivity with 12 goals and four assists in 13 games immediately after joining the team. In particular, he proved that he has completely settled on the U.S. stage, ranking second overall in the league after Messi, who recorded one in every 68.9 minutes of offensive point productivity per minute.

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*This content was translated by AI.