Uncredited - stringer, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Lionel Messi and Inter Miami started their tour of Saudi Arabia with a 4-3 defeat on Monday against Al Hilal.
The MLS club arrived in the oil-rich kingdom as part of their preseason preparations, but the presence of the Argentine star could not prevent the stumble in Riyadh.
Messi got on the scoresheet by scoring in the second half, but the Brazilian Malcom scored the winning goal in the 88th minute.
Al-Hilal was one of the top contenders in Saudi Arabia for Messi to continue his career when he decided to leave Paris Saint-Germain, becoming one of the most coveted free agents last year.
In the end, he opted to move to the United States to join David Beckham's Miami team and quickly led the team to win their first trophy, the Leagues Cup.
Both he and the team hope to have more success in their first full season and the preparation includes an intense tour with stops in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan. They had previously played friendlies in El Salvador and Dallas.
The most anticipated game is the one they will play on Thursday against Al Nasr, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, the former Newcastle and Fulham striker, put Al Hilal ahead in the 10th minute and Abdullah Al-Hamdan increased the lead three minutes later.
Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan star recently signed by Miami, scored to reduce the difference. But Al Hilal restored their two goal lead with Brazilian Michael's headed goal in the 44th minute.
Messi scored his goal in the 54th by converting a penalty to the left and a minute later he assisted Honduran David Ruiz for the 3-3.
Just when Miami looked set to get away with a draw, Malcom scored the decisive goal.
Inter Miami
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