A video has revealed how Lionel Messi helped Inter Miami goalkeeper save a penalty in a draw with Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS.

Lionel Messi once again played an important role for Inter Miami when he scored a rescue goal in a 1-1 draw at Los Angeles Galaxy in round 2 of Major League Soccer (MLS). But the Argentine star also made an important intervention in a situation that should have ended in a goal for the California team. A video captured by a spectator clearly shows how involved Messi is and how well he knows his opponents, although in this case they are former teammates at Barcelona.

After 12 minutes of play, Los Angeles Galaxy received a penalty kick and the person responsible for taking it was Riqui Puig, Messi’s teammate in two seasons at Barca (2019/2020 and 2020/2021). La Pulga sensed where the Spanish midfielder could play and from almost halfway across the field he stood face-to-face with his goalkeeper, Drake Callender, gesturing with his right arm to drop to the left. Callender followed suit and blocked the shot. The guy filming couldn’t believe what happened and one of his friends celebrated in the stands.

Video of Messi instructing Callender to save a penalty

“Messi always knows” is the phrase that the cameraman put in the video that was spread on social networks. That shows, Messi must have seen Puig take penalties countless times at Barca. This time, it was true that the Spaniard also took a shot with his right foot, which was blocked by Callender and followed by a corner kick.
After hitting the crossbar, in the second half, Puig participated in the situation that led to the opening goal from a counterattack. He took a shot that Callender blocked, Marco Delgado received the ball and assisted Dejan Joveljic to score.