Lionel Messi and Inter Miami helped Major League Soccer kick off its 29th season with a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night.
Inter Miami is coming off a rough preseason tour that took the club around the world, playing games in places such as Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan. The preseason performances left more to be desired, but now Tata Martino’s squad finally gets to play games that matter and Inter Miami got the season off to a positive start against RSL.
MLS SEASON OPENER:Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake score, highlights
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The majority of the games during the opening week of MLS play take place on Saturday. The biggest is Los Angeles FC hosting the Seattle Sounders in a showdown of expected contenders for the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup.
On Sunday, Messi and Inter Miami visit Southern California to take on the revamped Los Angeles Galaxy. Looking to steal some of the spotlight from Messi will be new Galaxy winger Gabriel Pec, who was acquired on the most expensive transfer fee in team history.
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(All games available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.)
Wednesday
Saturday
Sunday
All Major League Soccer games air on on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Some select games are available for free on Apple TV and viewers only need an Apple ID to watch. Those games this weekend are: Los Angeles FC vs. Seattle Sounders, D.C. United vs. New England Revolution, Orlando City vs. CF Montréal and FC Cincinnati vs. Toronto FC.
FOX Sports will air select games on linear television. This week, Los Angeles FC vs. Seattle Sounders airs on FOX.
While hyped-up Inter Miami and its all-time great superstar, Lionel Messi, have two mildly intriguing matchups this week to open the 2024 MLS season, the best matchup of the weekend is taking place at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. The Sounders and LAFC have combined to appear in six of the last eight MLS Cups, and should be among the top contenders again this season.
There also will be plenty of star power on display, with newcomers under the microscope early. While the Sounders made an offseason splash acquiring Pedro de la Vega — a 22-year-old attacking player from Argentina — LAFC brought in French World Cup-winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Noteworthy: Real Salt Lake had a 14-game unbeaten streak in season openers snapped in its 2-0 loss to Inter Miami on Wednesday night. However, there’s another season-opening streak on the line Saturday: Los Angeles FC has never lost an opener (2018-2023). With a win over the Seattle Sounders, LAFC would become the first team in MLS history to win seven consecutive season-opening games. LAFC is currently in a tie with FC Dallas (2012-17) with six straight season-opening wins.
