* Goals: Mitrovic 10', Al-Hamdan 13', Michael 44', Malcom 88' - Suarez 34', Messi pen 54', Ruiz 55'.

After failing to score in friendlies against El Salvador and FC Dallas, Inter Miami flew to Saudi Arabia to begin their pre-season tour of Asia. Their first game was against Saudi Pro League leaders Al Hilal at the Kingdom Stadium. As usual, coach Tata Martino deployed Messi up front with Suarez, with former Barca teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba behind them.

Compared to the previous two matches - a 0-0 draw with El Salvador and a 0-1 loss to FC Dallas, Inter Miami played better. However, against an opponent who was in form and had a more balanced squad, the American club only had 36% possession, had 10 shots, seven of which were on target, compared to Al Hilal's 24 shots and 17 on target.

The home team took the lead early in the 10th minute, after a well-executed triangle play on the left wing. From behind, Aleksandar Mitrovic ran up to receive the ball and curled it past goalkeeper Drake Callender. Al Hilal needed just three more minutes to double their lead, thanks to a low shot from Saudi Arabia star Abdullah Al-Hamdan that hit the inside of the post.

Inter Miami tried to fight back, despite being under a lot of pressure from the home fans in the stands. In the 34th minute, starting from Messi's dribble, Alba passed the ball to Julian Gressel to face the goalkeeper. The midfielder hesitated for a moment then passed it to Suarez to shoot into the empty net. The referee ruled the situation offside because Gressel passed the ball too slowly.

Suarez was furious with the decision. He turned to the linesman and complained. After reviewing the VAR, Edina Alves Batista, the female referee in charge of the match, awarded the goal to the former Liverpool striker because she determined that the ball came from an Al Hilal player and not Gressel. This was Suarez's first goal for Inter Miami.

However, Al Hilal quickly restored their two-goal lead before the break. From Al-Hamdan's cross, Michael won an aerial duel with goalkeeper Callender to head the ball into an empty net.

Early in the second half, Mohammed Jahfali fouled David Ruiz in the penalty area and was spotted by VAR. From the penalty spot, Messi kicked into the top right corner, fooling goalkeeper Hbib Alwotayan. This was the first goal of the Argentine captain in 2024. After scoring, he ran into the goal to pick up the ball and called on his teammates to try to equalize.

Messi's words of encouragement seemed to bear fruit. Inter Miami tied the score at 3-3 just a minute later. Ruiz drove from the left wing into the middle, beat an Al Hilal defender, and fired into the near corner, leaving Alwotayan helpless. After scoring, the 19-year-old midfielder was congratulated by both Alba and Messi.

However, two minutes from time, Al Hilal scored the equaliser. It was a similar story for their third goal when Yasser Alshahrani crossed from the right for Malcom to head the ball into the ground, past Callender. Inter Miami's defence continued to show their poor defending in the air.

In the remaining match of the Riyadh Cup, Inter Miami will face Al Nassr on February 1, with the focus on the confrontation between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, if the Saudi Arabian striker recovers from injury. After this match, Inter Miami will travel to Hong Kong and Japan for friendlies, then return to the US to prepare for the new season.

Quang Huy