Inter Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi has heaped praise on his teammate Lionel Messi, stating that he will never get tired of talking to the Argentina icon.
Messi, 36, has fired on all cylinders since joining Inter Miami as a free agent in July. Having scored five goals in his first three games, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) ace extended his dream run, making a telling impact in Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup round-of-16 win over FC Dallas.
The two-time Golden Ball winner scored from outside the box after just six minutes of play, handing Miami a dream start. Again in the 85th minute, he dispatched an unstoppable free-kick to find the top-right corner, level the score at 4-4, and push the game to penalties. Messi’s perfect form continued in the shootout, with him confidently putting away the first spot-kick and helping his side to a 5-3 victory on penalties.
The goal that saved Inter Miami.
Lionel Messi 🐐 pic.twitter.com/jbFUwMzZfx
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 7, 2023
Cremaschi cannot get enough of Lionel Messi
Cremaschi, who joined Inter Miami’s senior team as a Homegrown Player in 2022, shared his experience of playing alongside one of the best players in history. Speaking to MLS Season Pass, the 18-year-old said (via GOAL):
“I don’t get tired of talking to him, I never will. It’s amazing what he can do and nobody expected him to do what he’s doing. He scored twice and two times in almost every game and it’s just impressive. We can’t wait so we keep on going like that and [he] helps us to get as far as we possibly can.”
Cremaschi knew where he was going to shoot his decisive penalty kick
Although Messi deservedly won the Man of The Match award, Cremaschi was not far behind in the race. He scored for the Herons in the 65th minute before confidently dispatching the match-winning penalty kick. About his decisive penalty, which he slotted into the bottom-right corner, Cremaschi added:
“When they gave me the fifth penalty, I knew where I was going. I knew how I was going to take it and just trust in what I can do and it went that way.”
It will be interesting to see what Messi and Cremaschi come up with when Inter Miami take on the winners of the clash between Charlotte FC and Houston Dynamo in the Leagues Cup quarter-finals on Friday (August 11).
