‘Iyer’s knock in 1st T20I was a masterclass in reading the situation,’ says Patel

Fort Lauderdale (USA), Aug 17 (IANS) Late goals from captain Lionel Messi and forward Luis Suarez led Inter Miami CF to earn a thrilling 3-1 victory at Chase Stadium against the LA Galaxy.

Defender Jordi Alba opened the scoreline before late goals from Messi and forward Suarez allowed the team to record its first-ever victory over the reigning MLS Cup champions.

Inter Miami started the match applying pressure to the visitors through several combinations between Picault, Allende, Suárez, and Segovia. The latter came close to opening the scoreline after a great collective play was finished off by the Venezuelan from a backheel cross from Suarez. The goal, though, was overruled due to an offside position from Segovia in the play’s build up, Inter Miami reports.

Nearing the end of the first half, a precise line-breaking ball by Busquets found Alba, who cut through the Galaxy’s defense. The defender found himself at the edge of the six-yard box and clinically placed the ball to the goalkeeper’s first post to give Inter Miami the lead into the break.

The second half saw the introduction of Argentine duo Messi and Rodrigo de Paul.

The Galaxy then equalized in the 59th minute through a goal from Joseph Paintsil.

Inter Miami continued generating chances during the second half. In the 84th minute, de Paul played an unmarked Messi right outside the box, who dribbled past a defender and slotted a grazing left-footed shot to reclaim the lead.

Remarkably, the goal saw Messi become the second-fastest player in MLS history to reach 40 career goals, doing so in just 44 matches (Josef Martínez, 42).

Suarez rounded out the result for the definitive 3-1 scoreline in the 89th minute with a close range shot from inside the box following an elite backheel delivery from Messi from the 18-yard box.

Notably, with the goal Suarez took his tally to 6 this regular season. The assist, meanwhile, was the 10th for Messi in MLS play in 2025.

–IANS

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Pattaya, March 20 (IANS) The Chinese men’s beach soccer team fell 5-3 to Saudi Arabia in its opening Group B match of the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup 2025 in Pattaya on Thursday in an encounter marked by dramatic momentum shifts.

China struck first through a swift counterattack, but Saudi Arabia equalized late in the same period. Saudi Arabia briefly took the lead in the second period. China responded instantly, as goalkeeper Guo Wei unleashed a thunderous strike from his own goal line to level the score at 2-2, reports Xinhua.

The action intensified in the closing seconds of the second period. China regained the lead through Liu Yisi’s left-footed free-kick, awarded after a Saudi handball offense, only for Saudi Arabia’s Majed Shamhani to mirror the feat moments later with a free-kick resulting from a Chinese handball, leaving the score tied at 3-3.

Saudi Arabia broke the deadlock in the final period with a header in the 27th minute. China’s hopes faded when its opponent scored a penalty in the dying moments, sealing Saudi Arabia’s 5-3 victory.

The 16-team tournament sees China competing in Group B alongside Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. In Thursday’s other group match, Japan edged Iraq 4-3. China will next face Iraq on Saturday while Saudi Arabia takes on group leader Japan.

Earlier, the Indian team suffered a 0-3 defeat against hosts Thailand in the opening match of Group A.

Making their first appearance at the Beach Soccer Asian Cup since 2007, India began on a good note, holding the more fancied hosts goalless in an evenly-contested first period and creating a handful of chances. But ultimately, Thailand’s experience prevailed as they overpowered the Indians in the second and third periods, scoring in the 21st (Jake Stoten), 29th (Ratthaphong Nadee) and 33rd (Komkrit Nanan) minutes. A beach soccer match consists of three periods of 12 minutes each.

India will face Kuwait in the second match on Saturday. Kuwait went down 4-5 to Lebanon in their first game earlier in the day. The top two teams from the group will qualify for the quarter-finals.

–IANS

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Chennai, Jan 8 (IANS): Chennaiyin FC will aim to kick off the new year with a win when they take on Odisha FC in an Indian Super League 2024-25 match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday. The Marina Machans started their ISL 2024-25 campaign with a memorable comeback win over Odisha in September, with Farukh Choudhary scoring twice to condemn the Juggernauts to a first home reverse in 569 days.

Four months on, Chennaiyin FC have won four matches and drawn three, keeping themselves within touching distance of the playoffs. Head coach Owen Coyle is now looking forward to stitching together a strong run in the second half of the season.

“We have ten games now remaining, six at home and four away, every one of them is very winnable,” Coyle told the media at the pre-match press conference in Chennai. “We had hoped to have a fit and healthy squad, but regardless the available players have to step up and we need to now go on a winning run, which we are more than capable of. We’re starting with a tough Odisha side, but one which we have already played earlier in the season.

“We know their strengths, we know their qualities, but equally, we know we are capable of beating them. We did it earlier in the season and we need to do it again,” he said.

The New Year brings with it the commencement of the January transfer window, and head coach Coyle revealed he is keen to add a few players to his squad. “The January window is a difficult one because clubs are reluctant to let players go. But, we’re actively trying to boost the squad where we can, and we’d like to freshen up with one or two players,” he said.

Joining Coyle was goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz, signed in the summer from Mumbai, who has since made the No.1 spot his own. Quizzed about the changing backline and unforeseen mistakes, Nawaz underlined the need to stick together and support each other.

“When we concede goals due to errors, it is difficult for us, but we can’t blame any one player because football is a team game,” Nawaz said. “Everybody makes mistakes, what we can do is forget it and work on it the next day. The important thing is playing together. We encourage each other, improve each other, and try to do well.”

Finally, coach Coyle also confirmed both Ankit Mukherjee and Elsinho are back in training and the former is in line to make his return.

–IANS

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