4 takeaways from LAFC’s MLS season-opening win over Lionel Messi, Inter Miami

Of the 13 games that kicked off Major League Opening Day on Saturday, there was no debate over which was more important. In front of a massive crowd of more than 75,000 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, MLS’ two biggest stars – Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and LAFC’s Son Heung-min – faced off in the two clubs’ 2026 curtain-raisers. It wasn’t a pretty sight for Messi and the defending MLS Cup champions, who got a first-hand look at one of the teams that will challenge them for the title later. Here are my takeaways: 1. Miami’s MLS Cup defense starts with a face plant. Inter Miami has been the class of MLS since Messi’s first full year in the league. In 2024, the Herons won the Supporters Shield with a new regular season points record. Last December, they won the marquee prize by beating the Vancouver Whitecaps and winning the MLS Cup in front of a star-studded crowd in Fort Lauderdale. But veteran stars Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets retired after that triumph, and coach Javier Mascerano spent the winter trying to integrate new players alongside Messi, who turns 39 in June. Based on Saturday’s testimony, there is still a lot of work to be done. Miami’s back line was comically porous on Saturday. Take a look at Martinez’s opener for LAFC’s opening goal: The hosts’ second goal was also a comedy of errors and, with just over a quarter of an hour to play at that point, it effectively killed the game. Maybe Miami will figure things out quickly and return to its dominant ways. Otherwise, it could be a long season in South Florida. 2. Denis Bouanga steals the show On a night billed as Messi versus Son, the best player on the pitch was Bouanga. The 31-year-old French-born Gabonese international striker and 2023 MLS Golden Boot winner was all over the pitch on Saturday. While Son got the assist on the opener, Bouanga was the architect of the other two. Before rounding his defender and putting the ball on a plate for Ordaz, Bouanga put the play away himself, getting behind the visitors’ defense and rounding Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair before calmly slotting into an empty net: 3. Lionel Messi’s injury scare won’t be the last The GOAT has still not confirmed that he will captain reigning world champions Argentina at this summer’s FIFA World Cup, claiming that its participation in the 48-team tournament spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico will be decisive. on his health and form at the start of the MLS season. This is why the site of Messi sprawled on the turf following a collision around the hour mark momentarily stunned the 75,673 people present – ​​we’ll talk about that in a minute – into silence. Luckily, the living legend stood up and finished the game. But it was a reminder to those in the house and millions of football fans around the world that he is human and that every chance to see him play, even on a night when he wasn’t on the scoresheet, is a privilege that cannot be taken for granted. 4. A special night for MLS Demand for tickets to see Messi and Son’s first meeting forced LAFC to move Saturday’s competition from its usual home, the 22,000-seat BMO Stadium, to the historic Coliseum nearby. It looked like a major event, and it was: The final tally made it the highest-attended match in world soccer on Saturday and the second-largest standalone regular season match since MLS’s debut in 1996. It was also the perfect way to kick off what promises to be a special year for the sport in North America, with the World Cup now less than four months away. “This is a huge opportunity for our league to harness all of the energy around sports in our country to host the biggest and most important sporting event in world history right in the middle of our season,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said on the AppleTV halftime show. 4 ½. What’s next? These two teams will be in discussion throughout the season as top contenders for the MLS Cup and the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It’s too early to tell how things will play out, especially for a Miami team that will need to sync up several new players. But the Black-and-Gold sent a clear message: the road to the MLS Cup could pass through the streets of Los Angeles.