Lionel Messi and Inter Miami kicked off their tour of Saudi Arabia by losing to Al-Hilal 4-3 on Monday.
The Major League Soccer (MLS) team is playing two games in the oil-rich kingdom as part of its preseason preparations, but even Messi could not inspire it to victory in Riyadh. While Messi got on the score sheet with a second-half penalty, Malcom came up with the decisive goal to win the match in the 88th.
Malcom scored in the 88th minute, and Al Hilal handed Messi and Inter Miami a 4-3 loss in the opening match of the Riyadh Season Cup at Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia on Monday. Messi and Inter Miami play again on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET, but it’s unclear whether archrival Cristiano Ronaldo will play for Al Nassr because of a calf injury.
Read Also: Messi Is Crowned FIFA Men’s Best Player Of The Year
Messi scored from the penalty kick in the 54th minute, and 19-year-old David Ruiz added a goal one minute later to help Inter Miami storm back from a 3-1 deficit at halftime to tie the match. But Malcom – who played with Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at Barcelona in 2018-19 – spoiled the possibility for a draw.
Suarez started Inter Miami’s scoring in the 34th minute, marking his first goal with the club. It appeared Messi scored one minute later, which would have tied the match at 2 in the first half, but referees determined Suárez was offside to start the sequence. Aleksandar Mitrovic scored in the 10th minute, Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored in the 13th minute for Al Hilal, leaving Messi and Co. in disbelief early.