Luis Suarez scored his first goal in an Inter Miami shirt and Lionel Messi was also on target in Monday’s friendly against Al-Hilal, but it was not enough for the Herons as they slumped to a 4-3 defeat.
Suarez was reunited with former Barcelona team-mates Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba in December, joining Miami on a free transfer after spending one year with Brazilian side Gremio.
The Uruguayan joined that trio in Miami’s starting lineup as they faced Al-Hilal in a high-profile friendly in Riyadh on Monday, but Gerardo Martino’s team fell 2-0 down early on.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic and Abdullah Al-Hamdan struck in the first 13 minutes before Suarez got off the mark for his new club, tapping home after Julian Gressel had a shot saved.
34’ | @LuisSuarez9 con el primero #AlHilalvsInterMiamiCF | 2-1 pic.twitter.com/62fS3nWOAX
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) January 29, 2024
Michael Delgado restored Al-Hilal’s two-goal cushion before the break, but Miami mounted a second-half comeback with Messi converting a penalty and David Ruiz levelling one minute later.
However, former Barcelona winger Malcom struck the winner two minutes from time, heading in from inside the six-yard box to cap a seven-goal thriller.
Messi and Miami will stay in Riyadh to play another friendly this week, facing Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr at the Kingdom Arena on Thursday.
However, Ronaldo’s status for that game is uncertain after he suffered an injury last week, which was a crucial factor in Al-Nassr cancelling a scheduled tour of China.
Malcoooooooom pic.twitter.com/qafHK9x10M
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) January 29, 2024
