Inside the hallowed concrete bowl of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night, the City of Angels got to once again witnessMessi Mania.
So, on a night that felt like it was stitched together by time itself, it was only fitting that the greatest player of his generation got the spotlight, but it was the hometown team that stole the show.
The Los Angeles Football Club defeated the reigningMLS Cup champions Inter Miami CF, 3-0, to open the 2026 Major League Soccer season. And yes, Lionel Messi was there. The Argentine legend walked beneath the peristyle and into a building that has swallowed gods before him.
He left without a goal and without a smile, but the 75,673 people, the second-largest crowd in MLS history, got to witness Messi play live. And that was more than worth the price of admission. Black and gold scarves fluttered beneath Olympic torches. Pink jerseys shimmered under California night. It felt less like Matchday 1 and more like a final.
Messi walked out for warmups to a noise that shook the press box. Every touch during introductions drew a reaction — not quite worship, not quite hostility, but something closer to reverence. Los Angeles loves stars. It also loves measuring them.
Messi entered this season as the reigning back-to-back MLS MVP, the Golden Boot winner, the engine behind Miami’s championship run. He scored 29 goals last regular season, added 19 assists, and then turned the postseason into a personal gallery with 15 goal contributions.
Marc Dos Santos, beginning his first full campaign as LAFC head coach, did not flinch. He set up his side with one eye on Messi at all times: compact, disciplined, daring Miami’s midfield — now without Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba — to create without their old metronomes. Rodrigo De Paul pressed. Germán Berterame tried to stretch the line.
And still, Messi found himself swarmed any time he got a touch.
Stephen Eustáquio tracked him. Timothy Tillman shadowed passing lanes. Hugo Lloris, the 2018 World Cup champion in LAFC’s net, commanded his backline like a conductor raising tempo.
Every time Messi drifted into that familiar pocket between lines, a black-and-gold shirt appeared like a closing door.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
