It might be just the second regular season matchup of the 2024 MLS regular season, but there’s a pervasive symbolism around Dignity Health Sports Park as Inter Miami travels west to visit the LA Galaxy.
Major League Soccer’s past and present collide as Inter Miami owner David Beckham returns to where he spent seven years paving the way for a new era of MLS growth and setting the stage for Lionel Messi to become the league’s next immortal great.
Beckham’s era-defining tenure with the Galaxy saw Major League Soccer enter a new stage of growth and provided the foundation for Messi’s
Inter Miami won 2-0 in their season opener on Wednesday against Real Salt Lake, but if Messi and company are to step into Beckham’s shoes and go on to win an MLS Cup title this season, they will need to be much improved from that underwhelming performance.
The Galaxy, meanwhile, are starting their 2024 campaign after an offseason with lots of chopping and changing to the roster. They boast another former Barcelona star in Riqui Puig, who has been exceptional since joining MLS a year and a half ago.
The Sporting News is following the Inter Miami vs LA Galaxy match live, providing score updates, commentary, and highlights as they happen.
Inter Miami vs LA Galaxy live score
Score (HT) Goal scorers LA Galaxy 0 – Inter Miami 0 –
Kickoff: 9:10 p.m. ET / 6:10 p.m. PT
Location: Dignity Health Sports Park (Carson, CA)
Referee: Gabriele Ciampi
Starting lineups (predicted):
LA Galaxy (4-3-3, right to left): 77. McCarthy (GK) — 2. Yamane, 22. Caceres, 4. Yoshida, 3. Aude — 8. Delgado, 10. Puig, 20. Cerrillo, — 28. Paintsil, 9. Joveljic, 7. Fagundez.
Inter Miami (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Callender (GK) — 2. Yedlin, 6. Aviles, 27. Kryvtsov, 18. Alba — 24. Gressel, 5. Busquets, 20. D. Gomez — 10. Messi, 9. Suarez, 16. Taylor.
Inter Miami vs LA Galaxy live updates, highlights, commentary
HALFTIME: LA Galaxy 0-0 Inter Miami
The LA Galaxy dominated the first 35 minutes of the first half, pummeling the Inter Miami net to the tune of 1.71 xG, but with no return. Riqui Puig was twice denied by sensational Drake Callender saves, including one from the penalty spot and another which saw Puig’s effort turned off the crossbar.
The hosts will consider themselves extremely unlucky not to be two goals in front, but they faded as the half came to a close. Puig andn Joseph Paintsil have been deadly on the counter, and they will likely look to continue that in the second half.
Inter Miami vs LA Galaxy: First Half
45+1 min: Oh dear, Luis Suarez completely bungles a point-blank chance, as he stumbles before getting a shot off on John McCarthy’s net despite nobody anywhere close to him to challenge. Thankfully for Suarez, his embarrassment is somewhat saved by the fact that Jordi Alba was miles offside, so the flag goes up and the chance wouldn’t have counted regardless. Still…yikes.
42nd min: The Galaxy have been by far the better side so far, but unable to break the deadlock with their waves of pressure, they’ve taken their feet off the gas as the half winds down. Inter Miami have held most of the possession over the last five or 10 minutes, but they’ve done little with it. The match is grinding to a halt as the halftime break nears.
35th min: There’s some pushing and shoving as 20-year-old Edwin Cerrillo gets in Lionel Messi’s face. Luis Suarez comes in to play bodyguard. Messi then has a feisty chat with Martin Caceres, which is a CONMEBOL special.
32nd min: The Galaxy have another vicious counter-attack as Riqui Puig feeds Joseph Paintsil on the right. Paintsil has a trailing runner at the far post, but decides for the shot instead, and totally wastes it by firing the ball into Row Z. It didn’t help that Dejan Joveljic made a disruptive run that brought his defender into Paintsil’s way.
29th min: Chance, LA Galaxy! DRAKE CALLENDER SAVES INTER MIAMI AGAIN! He deflects a Riqui Puig shot off the crossbar! It’s a sensational stop from what seemed like a sure goal!
After he gets up off the turf, Callender screams in Lionel Messi’s direction for losing out to Edwin Cerrillo on the 50/50 ball that led to the chance, which is just the funniest thing.
28′ I Drake coming in BIG 🧤#LAvsMIA pic.twitter.com/qMvLSM36N6
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) February 26, 2024
25th min: Chance, LA Galaxy! Drake Callender saves a powerful effort by Joseph Paintsil! It comes from a tight angle as the new Galaxy signing finds a small window, and he rips a shot on goal which Callender turns away with both palms.
21st min: Sergio Busquets has been awful so far. He gives the ball away again to start an LA Galaxy breakaway, and then topples Joseph Paintsil with a hip check, earning a booking and giving the hosts a dangerous set-piece. It’s floated to the head of Maya Yoshida, who has a brilliant chance to put a shot on frame, but his header sails well wide.
Sometimes the right camera angle can produce a Renaissance painting in motion
(Peep the Suarez reax in the background) pic.twitter.com/VM21QaXQgh
— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) February 26, 2024
18th min: The Galaxy are pummeling Inter Miami’s penalty area, as they feed balls in from the left. The first one is cleared by Tomas Aviles, while the second is turned away by Jordi Alba. They both required last-ditch clearances with Galaxy attackers lurking.
Already over 1.5 xG for the Galaxy, including the penalty, but no goals just yet.
11th min: Penalty, LA Galaxy! Joseph Paintsil is dragged down as he latches onto a Riqui Puig vertical ball, and the referee points to the spot! Sergio Busquets is put into a blender by Paintsil, and he drags the Ghanan back by the shoulder. It’s the right call! Following the decision, Julian Gressel is shown a yellow card for dissent as Puig steps up to take the spot-kick…
The penalty is…SAVED BY DRAKE CALLENDER! The Inter Miami shot-stopper holds his ground as long as he possibly can, and Puig opens up his hips to fire his effort to his own right. Callender sees it, tracks it, and dives to his left to make the stop. What a job by the U.S. national teamer!
CALLENDER DENIES RIQUI PUIG
📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/jq1gYnibEi pic.twitter.com/Y04dXx1sny
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 26, 2024
9th min: Inter Miami completely flub a corner and it leads to a good LA Galaxy counter. Lionel Messi looks to be taking it but then calls Julian Gressel over. Gressel taps it to Messi short, but his service into the area is deflected and springs a breakaway. It’s run well but fizzles out in the final third. Giveaways continue to plague Messi’s side, and even he isn’t immune to coughing it up.
5th min: The official has had to speak with Julian Gressel who commits Inter Miami’s third reckless foul of the opening five minutes. Then moments later Sergio Busquets gets a talking to after fouling Riqui Puig, and it looks like a very early final warning for the Inter Miami No. 6. The visitors have been wildly out of control early on.
2nd min: Diego Fagundez is whistled for a foul right before Riqui Puig picks Sergio Busquets’ pocket at the top of his own penalty area. Puig curls the ball into the net but the foul negates the effort, and Inter Miami survive a nervy moment early. It was a questionable whistle from the replacement official. Regular MLS referees are in the midst of a work stoppage as they negotiate a new CBA.
Kickoff: They’re under way in Los Angeles! Lionel Messi looks for his first goal of 2024, Inter Miami gun for the season’s first winning streak, and the Galaxy look to start their campaign off on the right foot. Who will emerge successful?
It’s been a while since I’ve seen this place feel so electric. ⚡️
Messi effect.
If the league doesn’t capitalize on this now it never will. #Messi #LAGalaxy #InterMiamiCF pic.twitter.com/XDXgxQSAeI
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) February 26, 2024
Inter Miami vs LA Galaxy: Pre-match commentary, analysis, stats, and more
15 mins to kickoff: There’s a TON of pink in the stands at Dignity Health Sports Park tonight! Lionel Messi draws like nobody else in MLS. Kickoff is just around the corner!
🗣️Mauricio Pedroza (ESPN): “I’ve never seen so many people arrive at the stadium this early and I spent nine years covering the LA Galaxy. No one wants to miss a single moment of warm-up and there are many people wearing Messi shirts with Inter Miami and Argentina.” 🐐 pic.twitter.com/aVRxE4aQYa
— KwesFCB Miami (@kweFCBMiami) February 26, 2024
30 mins to kickoff: This is a very special day for David Beckham, who played for seven years with the LA Galaxy, changing the landscape of MLS in the process. Lionel Messi wouldn’t be here without Beckham paving the way, and now he returns to his old home for the first time as an opponent.
A legend and an icon 💫 pic.twitter.com/4YEbKrgl5c
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) February 25, 2024
45 mins to kickoff: The lineups are out, and both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are in the Inter Miami XI for this lengthy road trip on short rest. Had this come later in the season, it might be a moment for Tata Martino to give his aging stars rest, but since it’s just the second match of the year, they are both deployed.
For the LA Galaxy, Joseph Paintsil debuts for the hosts as expected, while fellow new signing Gabriel Pec features on the bench and will likely see the field as well. It’s John McCarthy who wins the starting goalkeeper spot over Nico Micovic who finished last season in net over the now departed Jonathan Bond.
40 minutes till kick off.. #LAGalaxy #InterMiamiCF #Messi pic.twitter.com/Vv7lJm3TBK
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) February 26, 2024
1 hour to kickoff: While we wait for starting lineups, a quick look around the rest of the league shows a pair of scoreless draws earlier today, as Toronto FC got a point in Cincinnati while the New York Red Bulls held Nashville in Tennessee. Those three matches featured a whopping 46 combined shots, but just 14 on target and no goals. The Red Bulls, with Emil Forsberg debuting at striker, were unlucky not to score, hitting the woodwork three times across their match in Nashville. Hopefully we get a little more goal action here tonight in LA!
Forsberg nearly gets the MLS debut goal but is denied by the crossbar. 🤏 pic.twitter.com/J40RtOBeIc
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 25, 2024
1 hour 15 mins to kick: With Inter Miami playing in Los Angeles for just the third time in club history, and first ever against the Galaxy on the road, there should be plenty of celebrities on hand to watch Lionel Messi take on David Beckham’s former club.
Messi and @LuisSuarez9 have arrived in enemy territory. 👀@InterMiamiCF visits @LAGalaxy at 9pm ET.
📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/2jEHDlSMFb pic.twitter.com/z4qSyTbWLa
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 26, 2024
1 hour 30 mins to kick: The LA Galaxy have gone through significant change this offseason, with a bevy of incoming and outgoing roster moves. They sent Chicharito back to his home country of Mexico, while Tyler Boyd, Douglas Costa, Chris Mavinga, Raheem Edwards, Jonathan Klinsmann, and many others departed.
In their place arrived Joseph Paintsil, Gabriel Pec, John Nelson, Miguel Berry and Miki Yamane. Paintsil and Pec both required significant investment and will look to revamp the overhauled front line. Paintsil, signed as a designated player, is expected to make his debut despite only just recently arriving in the U.S. Pec may also feature, but he arrived only days ago and would be a stretch to start.
They also made a few changes at the goalkeeper position, with Jonathan Bond and Jonathan Klinsmann both departing for good, while John McCarthy was added to compete with young Serbian youth international Novak Micovic.
“For me it was a green light no matter what. I knew it was going to happen, because I really wanted it to.” – @josephpaintsil_ on the 2-month process of joining the #LAGalaxy #MLS pic.twitter.com/4Ecuq7ZYDD
— El Escudero de LA (@ElEscuderoDeLA) February 23, 2024
1 hour 45 mins to kick: As Tata Martino looks to navigate the thin depth at Inter Miami, he raised some eyebrows by experimenting with Noah Allen at center-back during preseason. Some believed this was just to get him minutes at a new position given Inter Miami are thin along the back line and need flexibility, but it seems Martino may be fully changing Allen’s position, telling MLS journalist Franco Panizo “he’s a center-back not a full-back.”
It’s a surprise given his small stature, but Allen may be called upon with Kamal Miller gone, Serhiy Kryvtsov looking a few steps off the pace, and Nicolas Freire nursing a knee injury. Seems like Freire did make the trip and is available today by the looks of an Inter Miami social media post two hours prior to kickoff.
🛡️ Had a good exchange with Tata Martino today regarding Noah Allen as a centerback.
Tata insists Allen is a centerback and not a fullback despite lack of height, saying Allen “is fast, has a good left foot, is good 1-on-1, reads game well, anticipates.”#InterMiamiCF #Messi𓃵 pic.twitter.com/k5zYgdlChZ
— Franco Panizo (@FrancoPanizo) February 23, 2024
2 hours to kickoff: Riqui Puig, a former Barcelona player himself, will match up against Barcelona’s previous generation of greats in this match. Puig has been exceptional since joining the Galaxy in the summer of 2022, but has had little help as he’s had to carry the entire team himself at times.
It’s a special chance to match up against a player who is no doubt special to him and his former club.
🗣️Riqui Puig: Messi is the best player in history and he is the best in the league currently too. He showed against Salt Lake how well he plays and how physically he is, so I think we have to be very careful with the best player in the world. 🐐
pic.twitter.com/tRF9hg5qUe
— Inter Miami News Hub (@Intermiamicfhub) February 24, 2024
Inter Miami vs LA Galaxy lineups, team news
LA Galaxy come into the 2024 season at less than full strength. Their biggest absence is young defensive star Jalen Neal, who had hernia surgery two weeks ago and will miss six to eight weeks in total. His return will be critical not just for the Galaxy, but also for the United States, as Neal figures to factor in heavily in the youth side that will compete in this summer’s Olympics.
Martin Caceres and Daniel Aguirre both missed time in preseason with fitness concerns but have regained their match availability., and both appear in the squad, with the former starting and the latter on the bench.
New big-money signing Joseph Paintsil starts in his Galaxy debut, and his addition is expected to be a positive one after scoring 14 goals and assisting 14 others in 30 Belgian top-flight matches with Genk last season. He has six and four, respectively, through just over half of the current campaign. Gabriel Pec, meanwhile, only just landed in the U.S. on Thursday and begins on the bench, though should push for a starting spot soon.
LA Galaxy starting lineup (4-3-3): McCarthy (GK) — Yamane, Caceres, Yoshida, Aude — Yamane, Puig, Cerrillo, Delgado — Paintsil, Joveljic, Fagundez.
LA Galaxy subs (9): Micovic, Cuevas, Nelson, Zavaleta, Augirre, Brugman, Perez, Berry, Pec.
Inter Miami will spend all season meticulously managing the workload of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Messi has dealt with sporadic muscle issues in recent years, so in a road match with cross-country travel on very short rest, his availability this weekend was arguably in question even with no particular injury present.
Suarez, on the other hand, has managed a chronic knee issue over the past two years and limped off after 85 minutes on Wednesday, so he too could see rest here. Tata Martino dismissed questions about possibly resting Suarez against the Galaxy, but it feels reckless to overuse him so early. Still, they both make the starting lineup tonight.
Sergio Busquets played just five short of the full 90 minutes and appears recovered from his preseason ankle injury. New defensive signing Nicolas Freire saw some minutes late in preseason but missed the opener as he recovers from a pre-existing knee injury, and is only on the bench today. Benjamin Cremaschi is out for the first few months with a knee injury.
Inter Miami starting lineup (4-3-3): Callender (GK) — Yedlin, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Alba — Gressel, Busquets, D. Gomez — Messi, Suarez, Taylor.
Inter Miami subs (9): Dos Santos (GK), Allen, Sailor, Freire, Sunderland, D. Ruiz, Mota, Campana, Borgelin.
How to watch Inter Miami vs LA Galaxy
Every single match of the 2024 MLS regular season, playoffs, and Leagues Cup can all be found across the globe exclusively on MLS Season Pass from Apple TV.