Messi Starts on Bench as Inter Miami Visit New York Red Bulls

Messi available but not in Inter Miami's starting XI

Lionel Messi began Inter Miami's road match against New York Red Bulls on the bench Saturday, a notable lineup decision after questions about whether the 39-year-old would play following a short trip to Spain. Inter Miami listed Messi among its substitutes, while Riquelme Fillipi took a place in the starting attack, according to the club lineup cited by Athlon Sports. ^[3]

Athlon reported that Messi was not injured. Coach Cristian ‘Kily’ González said before the match that the forward had made himself available despite the travel, but the coach did not put him in the opening lineup. Any second-half appearance remained uncertain when this brief was filed. ^{[3] [5]}

A consequential late-season MLS match

The MLS regular-season match began at 5:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 24 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, after the kickoff had previously been moved from 4:30 p.m. ET. Apple TV carried the match in English and Spanish. ^{[1] [5]}

Inter Miami entered with a 15-5-10 record and 55 points, having already secured an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs place. New York began the evening at 10-14-6 with 36 points. MLS's match preview said Miami arrived on a three-game winning streak after a 3-1 victory over Atlanta United, a match in which Messi produced two goals and an assist. ^{[2] [4]}

The clubs had been evenly matched across their previous 13 regular-season meetings, each recording six wins with one draw. Their April 11 meeting in Miami finished 2-2. New York's official lineup put Ethan Horvath in goal behind Dylan Nealis, Julián Bazán, Tim Parker and Devin Padelford, with Julian Hall, Cade Cowell and Jorge Ruvalcaba leading the attack. ^{[1] [2]}

What remains unconfirmed

The match was still underway at filing time. A final score, confirmed scoring sequence, substitutions and complete statistics were therefore not available from two independent reliable sources and are not included here. The article should be updated after the league or either club publishes the official result, with the developing label removed once the final score and Messi's participation are confirmed. ^{[1] [4]}