Inter Miami have endured a bit of a tricky spell of late but in the early hours of Thursday morning, Lionel Messi got back to doing what he does best – against a Leeds United academy product.
Inter Miami finished top of the Eastern Conference last season and while they failed to win the MLS Cup, it was an excellent achievement – clocking up 74 points from only 34 games. This season, it’s different.
Javier Mascherano’s men sit in sixth place as the MLS approaches the halfway stage, having gone winless in their last four games and conceding a huge 13 goals. But that changes against Montreal this morning.
Messi and Luis Suarez scored two goals each as the David Beckham-owned side secured a 4-2 win over the Canadian outfit. But interestingly, it saw a Leeds United academy product start in a Montreal shirt.
Tom Pearce hooked at half-time as Lionel Messi runs riot
Coming up against Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba was Elland Road product Tom Pearce. Now 27, Pearce was a product of the Elland Road academy after joining from Everton at the age of 16.
Pearce had been in Everton’s academy from the tender age of five but upon his release, the left-back joined Leeds. He went on to play 10 times at senior level for Leeds before leaving the club in 2019.
Pearce started for Montreal as a left-winger, presumably a tactic to try and deal with the mercurial talent of Messi. But it didn’t work and Pearce was hooked at half-time in what was his 24th Montreal outing.
What Tom Pearce has got up to since leaving Leeds United
Having only played 10 times for Leeds, Pearce went on loan to Scunthorpe United and after a nine-game spell there, he joined Wigan Athletic for a six-figure fee. Pearce remained at Wigan for the next five years.
More than 100 appearances followed in a Wigan shirt before he was made a free agent and allowed to leave The Latics for nothing. Not many will have predicted his next move, a free transfer to the MLS.
A former England U21 international, Pearce has failed to live up to his potential but has had to deal with injury along the way. Now in the MLS, he will be hoping to show what he is capable of across the pond.
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