It turns out that on a scorching August evening in Frisco, Lionel Andrés Messi is capable of pulling it off.

The non-terminally online in context The phrase “even the GOAT would struggle to produce his scintillating soccer on a cold, rainy night at Stoke City,” coined by venerable English television commentator Andy Gray during a Premier League broadcast more than ten years ago, quickly became shorthand for the (admittedly somewhat dated) idea that England’s challenging conditions can humble even the world’s best.

The Toyota Stadium in FC Dallas is a good example of such a situation in the MLS, with the notoriously hot summers of the Lone Star State and a young, energetic home squad that enjoys going on the move. The Leagues Cup encounter between FCD and Inter Miami, which was sold out and took place in triple-digit temperatures until well after nightfall, provided Messi and company with a very challenging environment for their first road game since his arrival.

What followed became a timeless moment.

The hardest challenge for Messi to date

FCD pushed the Herons to the brink with incisive counterattacking and strong, gutsy performances from various players, especially Messi’s countryman Alan Velasco. FCD appeared to have won when they went up 4-2 with around 22 minutes remaining thanks to an own goal by Robert Taylor.

Nico Estévez, the head coach of Dallas, declared, “We had it,” after the game. “We should be really proud of our team and our accomplishments. Against a club that performed admirably in the prior games, we had the opportunity to score seven goals today, and I believe we put them in a very challenging situation. Sincerely, I believe we should prevail in this match.

But the ultimate trump card, Messi, is still Messi. And once more, Miami rode his otherworldly excellence to a dramatic comeback, tying the score at 4-4 in the 85th minute with his most recent picture-perfect free-kick golazo. Miami then won the next penalty shootout, securing their fourth straight victory and a spot in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals.

You can’t overlook the fact that we depend on the best player in the world, according to IMCF head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino.

Messi scored twice for the third game in a row, giving him seven goals in four games with Miami, good for the lead in the Leagues Cup Golden Boot. Additionally, he was crucial in setting up the goal of young, homegrown Benjamin Cremaschi and was responsible for taking the free kick that resulted in Marco Farfan’s own goal. It appears that his new squad is never out of the running as long as their talisman is around, despite their continuous defensive weaknesses. They appeared to be invincible at that time based on their flawless 5-for-5 performance in the shootout.

“You can see our mentality, how things have changed in this club, and how we’re willing to fight to the last second, especially with the quality players that we have,” Cremaschi said after the game to Katie Witham of MLS Season Pass. We are aware that we are capable of coming back from a significant deficit quickly. That’s all there is to it; all we need to do is believe in ourselves and our ability to succeed.

When it appeared that Messi’s magic had reached its limit, that the scorching heat and fearless opponent would put a damper on this fairy-tale beginning to his new adventure in North America, Messi produced another of those legendary performances to continue to astound the world and extend Miami’s Leagues Cup run.

Could Dallas have handled the last minutes more effectively? Was Estévez’s decision to pull off the explosive Velasco in the 77th minute a fatal error? Or would it have mattered if Miami’s No. 10 had made up his mind that he couldn’t let his team lose this game?

The most important factor

Martino was then essentially asked: Are the Herons Messi-dependent? Who in this sport wouldn’t readily embrace that when he is directing his squad and hitting clean, clinical shots into the corners of the net like he did again on this occasion?

The seasoned Argentine manager explained, “These questions always arise wherever he is, whether it’s Barcelona or the national squad of Argentina. He was a really aggressive player in this game, which is a good thing because we have him.

Martino continued, “There is often a free kick in that area and only with him, and it happens that you have the feeling that he is going to score.” “A free kick almost never results in a goal; that is, it doesn’t happen that way 90% of the time. In contrast, when he has it, there is a 90% chance that it will be and a 10% chance that it won’t. Therefore, we must benefit from that.

We are discovering that the alleged “Messi effect” is reciprocal. Because every single one of his rivals is eager to take advantage of the opportunity to compare themselves to the GOAT and to demonstrate their own brilliance on the larger, brighter platform that always surrounds a match involving Messi. This illustrates the beneficial cycle of level increases he has already sparked, raising everyone’s ceiling.

“Everything is really obvious. The more you play at a high level, the better you get,” asserted Estévez, who previously competed against Messi while serving on the coaching staff at CF Valencia. “Having players like him here will improve our players because you have to perform better when you are up against this caliber of competition, and you can see FC Dallas today in how some of our players lift their level above other games throughout the season.

“Like Alan Velasco, like Jess Ferreira, like Facu Quignon, I believe we had really good players who pushed the level higher – Nkosi Tafari defended extremely well, and Marco Farfan, except from that unfortunate header inside the own goal. Everyone here, in my opinion, made an effort to perform at their highest level, and as I’ve always said, playing against better players on a regular basis will help you improve.

The winner of Monday’s game between Houston Dynamo and Charlotte FC will then get the opportunity to square off against the GOAT on Friday, Aug. 11, at DRV PNK Stadium. They’ll undoubtedly need to bring their best efforts to bear if they want to stop Inter Miami.