Celebrity friends of Beckham turn out as ex-Arsenal striker Carlos Vela consigns franchise to defeat
Monday 2 March 2020 12:18, UK
David Beckham believes there are "exciting times ahead" for his MLS franchise Inter Miami despite a loss in their first game.
The former England captain praised his squad despite their 1-0 loss to Los Angeles FC, a fixture witnessed by several big non-football names including celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and actress Liv Tyler.
Beckham congratulated the players and staff of his new club on Instagram and is confident the future is bright for the franchise he co-owns.
"Very proud moment for our club today and the team did us proud," the former Manchester United and LA Galaxy midfielder said.
"It's been a long journey but this is only the beginning. To Diego (The Boss) the team and our entire staff...we should be very proud how far we have come and what the future holds.
"Exciting times ahead."
The 44-year-old is the co-owner of the 25th MLS franchise which, six years after its initial conception, finally took to the field on Sunday.
Beckham's side, managed by two-time CONCACAF Champions League winner Diego Alonso, showed flashes of promise in their first outing against a strong LAFC unit.
LAFC only played their first MLS game in March 2018 but have reached the play-offs in each of their first two seasons in the league and clinched the Supporters' Shield - awarded to the team with the best regular season record - last year.
Former Arsenal and Real Sociedad forward Carlos Vela crossed to Diego Rossi after five minutes, but his header across goal was acrobatically saved by goalkeeper Luis Robles - who joined Inter after making 238 appearances for New York Red Bulls.
Miami began to grow into the contest and forced former Holland international Kenneth Vermeer into a smart save after 37 minutes, diving to his left to deny Matias Pellegrini.
But Vela, on his 31st birthday, produced a piece of individual brilliance on the stroke of half-time, dancing his way to the edge of the area before executing a sublime chip over Robles for the game's only goal.
Kevin Molino credited his pre-season training back home in Trinidad and Tobago for his fast start, scoring two goals as Minnesota United beat Portland Timbers 3-1 in their season opener.
Molino's first goal in the 51st minute came after a scoreless first half. Luis Amarilla's header put the Loons ahead 2-1 in the 76th minute before Molino's second goal some two minutes later. Timbers' goal game from a Diego Valeri penalty to briefly level the scores.
Jordan Morris scored two second-half goals, the second in the third minute of stoppage time, and Seattle Sounders opened their MLS Cup defence with a 2-1 victory over Chicago Fire.
Seattle started the day parading the MLS championship trophy through the streets and unveiling their second championship banner, but were pegged back by Robert Beric's goal moments after half-time before Morris' double.
Lucas Zelarrayan scored in the 56th minute to lift Columbus Crew to a 1-0 season-opening win over New York City FC.
Zelarrayan bounced off a defender as the ball arrived in the box, spun and fired into the top far corner from just inside the area.
A serious injury to Josef Martinez overshadowed Atlanta United's 2-1 victory over Nashville on the latter's MLS debut.
Emerson Hyndman scored a first-half winner but Martinez suffered a torn ACL during the game and will now undergo surgery before the extent of his upcoming spell on the sidelines is fully understood.
Ezequiel Barco also scored in the ninth minute for Atlanta, before Walker Zimmerman made history for Nashville with the club's first MLS goal shortly before the half-hour mark.
Gadi Kinda's goal helped Sporting Kansas City beat Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Saturday night in their first game of the campaign.
Kinda gave Kansas City a 2-1 lead with a long-range effort into the to top corner in a frantic opening half, which had seen Alan Pulldo open the scoring 17 minutes in before Jake Nerwinski levelled for the Whitecaps 11 minutes later.
After Kinda's 39th-minute second, Erik Hurtado completed the scoring for Kansas City in second-half injury time.
