Lionel Messi gets two goals, one yellow card in Inter Miami win | Habib

FORT LAUDERDALE — This wasn’t the Lionel Messi scoring a storybook goal in his debut.

Or the Lionel Messi frolicking through a defense for a role in three goals.

This might be the Lionel Messi we’ll see from time to time.

Mad Messi.

And guess what? Mad Messi is just as dangerous as every other version of Messi.

Messi scored his fourth and fifth goals in just his third match for Inter Miami, which beat Orlando City 3-1 in a Leagues Cup elimination game Wednesday night.

The goals came as Messi suffered his share of fouls but also dished it out, drawing a yellow card for a deliberate kick at an opponent in frustration. And, shortly after hip-checking midfielder Cesar Araujo — risky for a player already on a yellow card — Messi was seen lightly shoving Araujo in the tunnel as the teams headed to their locker rooms for halftime.

When the GOAT joins a league where he’s clearly on another level, it’s all opponents can do to keep up with him. Sometimes it’s within the rules. Sometimes it’s not. Messi has made a career of keeping his temper in check, but on this night, he didn’t appear in the mood.

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The funny part is, Messi has ample reasons to be smiling. Twisted as this no doubt sounds, Inter Miami is the best last-place team anywhere.

Oh, yes, With Major League Soccer’s regular season still on pause, Inter Miami remains in last place with only five wins, which might be the most misleading statistic in sports. The past few weeks have seen Inter Miami get a serious shot of caffeine not only with the addition of Messi, but also old Barcelona buddies Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, who made his debut off the bench for the final 26 minutes.

To make them feel at home, fans serenaded Inter Miami with cheers of “Ole! Ole! Ole!” in the final minutes as Inter Miami ate up the clock by passing the ball around as Orlando City chased.

Robert Taylor: ’Great fun' to be playing like this

Just like that, Inter Miami has transformed itself from a team winless in 11 regular-season matches to a Leagues Cup juggernaut that’s 3-0 and has outscored opponents 9-2. Next for Inter Miami is a road trip to face Dallas on Sunday.

“It’s great fun to play right now when the team is winning,” forward Robert Taylor said. “We have lots of confidence now. It’s very, very good when you're finding this much space. I mean, it makes the game a little bit easier.”

Sandwiched around the chippy fouls were a pair of Messi goals nearly identical.

In the seventh minute, Messi drifted into the penalty area unmarked, happily accepting a Taylor chip off his chest, then easily swinging his left foot on the volley for a 1-0 lead.

The 72nd minute offered a replay of sorts. This time, Messi sent a ball to Taylor, again on the left wing. Messi then drifted into the penalty area but instead of being unmarked, he dragged two defenders with him, which left Josef Martinez alone on the back post. Martinez lobbed a short pass to Messi, who again volleyed it in from 6 yards out, making it 3-1.

Messi now has five goals and two assists for Inter Miami.

Shortly after Orlando City tied it at 1-1 came the chippy moments. One of Messi’s passes deflected by a defender’s hand, but when Wilder Cartagena loitered too long over the ball for Messi’s tastes, preventing Messi from taking a quick free kick, Messi shoved him out of the way.

Maybe that put Messi on the radar for the referee, because two minutes later, when Messi kicked Cartagena, he received a caution card.

Messi later hip-checked Araujo to win possession of a ball. The two appeared to be discussing their differences in a civil tone as they headed off the field together at halftime, but the small shove in the tunnel proved they still weren’t on the same wavelength.

“It was just like a derby game should be,” Taylor said. “Both teams really wanted to win the game. So I think it's normal.”

Sports reporter Hal Habib can be reached at  hhabib@pbpost.com and followed on Twitter  @gunnerhal.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lionel Messi gets two goals, one yellow card in Inter Miami win