Lionel Messi: Inter Miami Star Tells Goalkeeper Where to Dive to Save Riqui Puig's Penalty

• Lionel Messi's intuition may have helped Inter Miami's goalkeeper save a penalty
• Drake Callender saved Riqui Puig's spot-kick during their game against LA Galaxy
• Messi scored late in the game to clinch a point for the Herons in their second game

Lionel Messi opened his goal-scoring charts for 2024 after he scored in stoppage time to rescue a point for Inter Miami on February 26.

The David Beckham-owned side played Los Angeles Galaxy in their second game of the season days after beating Real Salt Lake 2-0.

Riqui Puig missed a first-half penalty for LA Galaxy, with Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender diving low to his left to save the effort. The former Barcelona midfielder's blushes were saved by Dejan Joveljić, who converted into an empty net in the 75th minute to give them the lead.

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LA Galaxy were then reduced to 10 men after Marco Delgado was sent off for a second bookable offence. Messi rolled back the years, combining with Jordi Alba to score in stoppage time and earn a draw for Tata Martino's side.

How Messi helped in saving penalty

But as it turns out, Messi's huge involvement on the night wasn't the goal alone. A new video has surfaced online of the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner seemingly telling Callender where to dive when he faced the Puig penalty.

As the Spanish player prepared to take the free-kick, Messi was spotted telling his goalkeeper to dive left and true to his word, Puig went left, allowing Callender to make the save.

Whether it was a lucky guess from Messi remains unknown, but after spending more than three years with Puig at Barcelona, he might have picked something about his penalty techniques.

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The 24-year-old La Masia graduate had earlier spent a moving moment with his former teammates, Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, in the tunnel as they headed out for the game.

Player chipped by Messi speaks

Sports Brief has also reported that the player whom Messi flicked while lying injured on the pitch has spoken out.

Messi showcased his wide array of talents when he chipped the ball over a player on the floor during Inter Miami's game against Real Salt Lake.