Messi cuts in from the right side of the box and fires a low left‑footed shot that is turned away toward the bottom left corner by goalkeeper Matthew Freese. Yannick Bright had slipped him in with a precise pass.

Messi drops deep and threads a pass to Micael outside the box, but Micael’s left‑footed drive flashes wide to the right. The move shows Messi orchestrating play from midfield.

On a fast break, Segovia feeds Messi, who unleashes a long‑range left‑footed effort from outside the box that crashes off the left post with Freese beaten. It’s a spectacular strike inches from scoring.

Messi finds space in the middle of the box and strikes with his left foot, but Freese again dives low to his left to save. Segovia provided the setup with a well‑timed pass.

From outside the box, Messi lets fly with his left foot after receiving the ball from David Ayala, but his shot is blocked by the defence before it can test Freese.

Messi takes aim from distance again, this time smashing a left‑footed strike from outside the box onto the crossbar after a layoff from Tadeo Allende. The thunderous effort leaves NYCFC’s defence rooted.

Messi gets a right‑footed effort off from the centre of the box after a pass from Yannick Bright, but the shot drifts wide to the left of the goal.

Driving forward in the attacking half, Messi’s close control draws a foul as he shields the ball and wins a dangerous free kick for Inter Miami. His ball retention under pressure forces NYCFC to bring him down.

From the resulting free kick, Messi curls a precise left‑footed shot over the wall and into the centre of the goal, beating Freese to level the match at 2–2. It’s a classic Messi set‑piece finish.

Messi tries his luck yet again from outside the box with a left‑footed shot after Segovia’s pass, but the attempt is blocked by a defender before it can reach the goal.

Messi finds a pocket of space in the centre of the box and strikes with his left foot, but Freese dives low to his bottom left yet again to keep the shot out. David Ruíz supplied the pass into the area.

From a corner late on, Messi swings in a dangerous cross that finds Germán Berterame at the right side of the six‑yard box, but Berterame’s header flies too high. Messi’s delivery nearly creates a decisive goal.