Serena Williams awestruck by Lionel Messi's first goal for Inter Miami

Tennis legend Serena Williams was left awestruck as Lionel Messi scored a last-gasp winner on his debut for Inter Miami during their Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul on Friday (July 21).

Messi recently completed his move to the MLS side after leaving French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as a free agent earlier this summer. Inter Miami announced Messi's arrival in Florida on July 15.

The Argentine icon made his debut for the club last night as a second-half substitute. Williams was in the stands, alongside Kim Kardashian and several other celebrities, when Messi scored a brilliant free-kick goal in injury time to take his team over the line.

The goal left the 23-time Grand Slam winner astonished. Watch her reaction here:

Messi started the game on the bench and was introduced with Inter Miami leading 1-0 in the 54th minute. Cruz Azul leveled the scores in the 65th minute, with the game finely balanced for the remainder of the half. However, Messi proved to be the decisive factor in the 94th minute, as his pin-point free-kick curled into the top left corner to seal all three points for Miami.

Williams' reaction to the strike was priceless as she uttered "Wow!" after the ball nestled into the back of the net. David Beckham, the co-owner of Inter Miami, and his wife Victoria Beckham were also elated at the strike which saw their team win the game 2-1.

Serena Williams arrived at DRV PNK Stadium (pronounced drive pink stadium) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her husband Alexis Ohanian to watch Messi play for the Miami side.

Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, is an active investor in Angel City FC, a club that plays in the National Women's Soccer League. The businessman has been married to Williams since November 2017. The couple has a four-year-old daughter, Olympia, and is expecting their second child.

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"Retired too early" - A fan tells Serena Williams

Serena Williams in New York: 2022 US Open

Serena Williams recently shared her book-store meeting with a fan who told her that she retired too early.

"I was at a book store the other day and someone came up to me and said I retired too early...," Williams tweeted.

Williams played her last match at the 2022 US Open. She lost the third-round tie 5-7, 7-6(4), 1-6 to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic. An emotional Williams bid farewell to her fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium after the loss. In her tearful speech, she said:

"I just thank everyone that’s here, that’s been on my side so many years, decades. But it all started with my parents and they deserve everything so I'm really grateful to them. These are happy tears... I guess."