Sam Surridge, Tai Baribo and Brian White scored goals and Major League Soccer defeated Liga MX of Mexico 3-1 in the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday night.
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammate, Jordi Alba, face possible league suspensions for their team’s next match against Cincinnati on Saturday for missing the All-Star Game.
Liga MX’s James RodrÃguez also chose not to play in the game, which took place in front of more than 20,000 fans at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.
MLS has defeated Liga MX three times in four tries. Last year, Liga MX won 4-1 in Columbus, Ohio. The MLS All-Stars won in 2022 and beat Liga MX on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw a year prior.
Messi has yet to appear in an MLS All-Star Game. He missed the game last year with an injury. Messi is tied with Nashville’s Surridge for the MLS lead in goals with 18.
Surridge scored another goal on Wednesday in the 28th minute with a header from the middle of the box into the lower right corner, after a LAFC’s Denis Bouanga corner.
The opportunity developed after Bouanga had a point-blank attempt stopped by Liga MX goalkeeper Luis Malagon (Club America). Bouanga hustled to retrieve the long rebound and sent it to Surridge.
Before the goal, both teams had attempts rejected with diving stops by Luis Malagón and Austin FC’s Brad Stuver in the 13th and 18th minutes.
MLS went ahead 2-0 in the 51st minute when Diego Rossi (Columbus) passed ahead to Baribo (Philadelphia), whose right-footed shot from the center of the box made it to the lower left corner of the goal.
Liga MX closed the gap to 2-1 just 13 minutes later when Gilberto Mora (Club Tijuana) converted a pass from ElÃas Montiel (Pachuca) from the middle of the box.
Liga MX’s bid to tie the match was snubbed when a shot by Diber Cambindo (Necaxa) was stopped by Yohei Takaoka (Vancouver) in the 75th minute.
White (Vancouver) finished the scoring in the 80th minute.
