Son Heung-min won 'League 1 Help + 8.2' and 'Only 6.6 points' Messi by perfect decision... Overwhelming performance

*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 scored a sharp help to lead his team to a complete victory, while Messi bowed his head in silence with no goals scored.

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

LAFC, ranked third in the Eastern Conference last season, announced a good start with a perfect performance against Miami, the defending MLS Cup champion. In particular, Son Heung-min tasted the joy of winning against Messi's team for the first time in career history.

It was Son's landslide victory in individual performances as well. According to the statistical media 'Foot Mob', Son Heung-min scored 8.1 points with one assist, three key passes, three big opportunities, 86% pass success rate, and two dribbles (100%). This is the second highest score for both teams.

Messi, on the other hand, scored only 6.9 points. Messi attempted four shots, but did not have a single effective shot, and was sluggish, with all three crosses missing. "Sofa Score" also ruled in favor of Son Heung-min by giving him 8.2 points and Messi 6.6 points.

On this day, Son Heung-min started as a central striker in a 4-3-3 formation and spent 88 minutes on the ground until he was replaced in the 43rd minute of the second half. Buanga and David Martinez were on both wings to work with Son Heung-min, while Marco Delgado, Timothy Tillman and Stephen Eustachio were in charge of the midfield. Sergi Palencia, Nkosi Tapari, Ryan Porteous and Eddie Segura built the four-back, while Hugo Lloris defended the goal.

Miami launched a 4-2-3-1 formation, putting Messi as an attacking midfielder. Luis Suarez stood by on the bench and Hermann Wertherame stepped up as one-top. Terrasco Segovia and Matteo Silvetti were flanked, with Rodrigo De Paul and Yannick Bright in the third line. The four backs were made up by Noah Allen, Michael, Maximiliano Falcon and Ian Frey, while 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 even beat the goalkeeper and gave a pass to Buanga, who was rushing when the angle did not come out, creating a decisive opportunity, but the shot was blocked by the goalkeeper. Messi fought back by exchanging one-two passes with De Paul, but failed to penetrate LAFC's hand-to-hand defense.

Geary Son Heung-min stepped up as a troubleshooter. In the 38th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min's unique sharp through pass completely destroyed Miami's back space, and Martinez calmly connected to the goal and scored the first winning goal. After the loss, Messi came down to the half-line and coordinated the game to pull the reins of the attack, but the first half ended without additional points.

In the 14th minute of the second half, there was a dizzying scene in which Messi collided with the defense and collapsed by holding the back of his neck. After overcoming the crisis, LAFC ran away in the 28th minute of the second half when Buanga beat the goalkeeper in a counterattack. Miami threw Suarez in the 36th minute of the second half, but rather collapsed by allowing Ordaz to score a net in the 4th minute of extra time in the second half.

Son won his first historic victory over Messi. In the past, the two players faced each other twice in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in the 2018-2019 season. In the first game at the time, Son Heung-min scored one assist and Messi scored two goals, but Son Heung-min won the decision in this reunion on the U.S. stage, wiping out the disappointment.

According to the "MLS" secretariat, more than 75,000 spectators gathered at the stadium to prove the heat. Messi recently returned to training after overcoming injury concerns, but failed to break the momentum of Son Heung-min, who had been showing off his peak skills, scoring 9.6 points with one goal and three assists in an away match in Honduras. Son Heung-min, who ranked second overall in the league after Messi (68.9 minutes) in offensive point productivity per minute immediately after joining the team last season, proved once again that he is the best striker on the U.S. stage through a complete victory in the opening game.

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*This content was translated by AI.