Watch: Lionel Messi's last-second freekick goal on American debut

Lionel Messi scored on a brilliant free kick deep into second-half stoppage time to put an exclamation point on his Inter Miami debut and lift his new team to a 2-1 victory over Cruz Azul in both teams' Leagues Cup opener on Friday.

Miami — which brought Messi off the bench because he's only had three full training sessions with the team so far — was outplayed at times by the Mexican visitors in the match at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

And even the Argentinian superstar who won the World Cup only months ago and captured the Ballon d'Or as the world's best player on seven occasions, had only scattered chances.

But after earning the foul himself about seven yards beyond the penalty area, Messi delivered an excellent, left-footed free kick that beat the defensive wall and goalkeeper Andres Gudino to the top left corner.

That sent a sold-out crowd that included the NBA's LeBron James, tennis' Serena Williams and media personality Kim Kardashian into celebration.

Watch the video here:

• Dh8.82 million per post: Cristiano Ronaldo becomes highest-paid star on Instagram, Lionel Messi ranks third