Inter Miami beat Mexican outfit Atlas 2-1 in their Leagues Cup matchup at Fort Lauderdale’s Chase Stadium. The match was the debut of Argentine national team regular Rodrigo de Paul, who joined the team from Spain’s Atlético de Madrid just four days ago.

It was a difficult game for the Herons. Atlas’s physical and gritty style of play foiled its hosts, and the Mexican’s made a case of tightly marking Messi to nullify any attempts to wrestle control of the game. 

Inter Miami, who are coached by Javier Mascherano, couldn’t get a shot on target in the first half, and had to call upon another Argentine, Rocco Ríos Novo, to produce a couple of big saves as Atlas looked to hit them on the counter attack.

Things improved for the Herons in the second half, and the opener arrived shortly after, Messi darting into the box to receive a through pass by Spain’s Sergio Busquets to place a low cross for Venezuelan midfielder Telasco Segovia to score the 1-0 in the 58th minute. But the match was far from over, as Atlas found a scrappy way back into the game in the 80th minute, as Mexican striker Rivaldo Lozano took the goal following several rebounds inside the Inter box.

Leagues Cup games can’t end in a tie, so it looked like the clash was bound to go to a penalty shootout. Enter Messi: another brilliant play unlocking a spot in the opponents box. The Argentine played a one-two with long-time friend Luis Suárez, before serving the goal up on a plate for the incoming Marcelo Weingandt, a former Boca Juniors defender.

“I’m very happy here and this was the best way start my path with this team,” said De Paul, who joined Inter’s growing list of Argentine players, which now includes Messi, Ríos Novo, Weigandt and also Oscar Ustari, Gonzalo Luján, Tadeo Allende, Tomás Avilés and Federico Redondo. “I love playing with Messi, he’s the greatest of all time and I wish we win a lot of titles.

Inter Miami’s next matchup will be another Mexican side, Necaxa. The team is coached by former Racing and Boca Juniors boss Fernando Gago, who departed the latter following the Superclásico in April. The clash with Messi and Miami, which will also be at the Chase Stadium, will be played on Saturday at 8 p.m. Argentina time.