Lionel Messi Laughs at Robert Taylor for Penalty Miss in Vissel Kobe vs Inter Miami Game

Lionel Messi Laughs at Robert Taylor for Penalty Miss in Vissel Kobe vs Inter Miami Game

Martin Moses
updated at February 13, 2024 at 11:54 AM
In this article:
Lionel Messi logo
L.Messi
Inter Miami CF logoFArgentina logo
Robert Taylor logo
R. Taylor
Inter Miami CF logoMFinland logo
Inter Miami CF logo
Club Internacional de Futbol Miami
United States
27
Vissel Kobe logo
Vissel Kobe
Japan
32
Jordi Alba logo
J. Alba
Inter Miami CF logoDSpain logo
  • Lionel Messi saw the funny side of his teammate Robert Taylor missing a penalty twice
  • Messi was a second-half substitute in Inter Miami's friendly game against Vissel Kobe
  • He was surprisingly not among the penalty-takers as Inter Miami lost the shoot-out 4-3

Lionel Messi was spotted laughing at his teammate Robert Taylor after the Inter Miami forward missed two penalties during a friendly game on February 7.

Messi and his Major League Soccer side played against Vissel Kobe at the New National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, in their sixth friendly game of preseason.

Lionel Messi, Inter Miami, Vissel Kobe, Robert Taylor
Lionel Messi in action for Inter Miami against Vissel Kobe on February 7. Photo by Kenta Harada.
Source: Getty Images

Days after angering fans in Hong Kong for not playing a single minute, the Argentine and his head coach, Tata Martino, threatened to follow a similar script with Messi starting on the bench against the Japanese side.

However, the 2022 World Cup winner was introduced in the 60th minute, replacing David Ruiz, much to the crowd's delight. The game was still goalless at that point, and despite Messi dazzling with some intricate displays, he failed to inspire the Herons to another win.

Messi laughs at Robert Taylor's penalty miss

The game headed into penalties, with Taylor stepping up to take Inter Miami's fourth penalty. His side were leading at that point after Hotaru Yamaguchi had missed Vissel Kobe's third attempt.

Taylor saw his first shot saved, but the referee ordered a retake after the goalkeeper had stepped out of his line. The Finnish international then blazed his second attempt over the crossbar, with Messi seeing the funny side of it. The 36-year-old was seen laughing alongside Jordi Alba.

Here is the video of that incident

Surprisingly, Messi did not take a penalty despite the shoot-outs going to sudden death. Gregore missed the final spot-kick to hand Vissel Kbe the win over the American side.

The David Beckham-owned side have now concluded their two-week tour of Asia and will return to the United States where they will play Newells Old Boys in their last warm-up game.

Messi scared by explosion sound in Hong Kong

Sports Brief also reported that Messi was scared by an explosion from a pyrotechnics device after Inter Miami's game against Hong Kong XI on February 4.

Messi failed to feature in the match, provoking the wrath of the fans in the stadium and the Hong Kong government.

He stepped onto the pitch for the trophy presentation when the device backfired and let out an explosion sound, startling everybody.

Authors
Martin Moses photo
Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)