Messi's every move is shown on TikTok as he won Inter Miami's playoff debut | MLS

Lionel Messi's every move was on display in his Major League Soccer playoff debut.

Every touch. Every shot attempt. Even if he didn't do anything at all, it was shown.

A “Messi camera” was trained on the Inter Miami superstar during his team’s playoff opener, a 2-1 win over Atlanta United on Friday evening. For the duration of the game, nothing but the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner was visible on the live stream on the MLS TikTok account.

It reflected the excitement surrounding Inter Miami, which grew in popularity with the arrival of Messi midway through the 2023 season.

The stadium was filled with Messi fans and familiar faces, including Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., former NFL player Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and actor Idris Elba.

“The Messi effect was great. It was really great,” Johnson said in a television interview. “From a global perspective, we have Messi here in the U.S. and the opportunity to grow the game as much as we've tried to grow the game and make it more popular here because we have so many different sports. … Above all, it was a pleasure for me to no longer have to travel to Spain to watch him play.”

Messi didn't score but assisted Jordi Alba's opening goal in the 60th minute. He had several chances, but they were thwarted by Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who made five saves to deny Messi on Friday night.

Inter Miami is the No. 1 seed in the playoffs after setting MLS records for points (74) and winning percentage (.765).

Messi, who scored a hat trick in the regular-season finale, is in the running for league MVP despite missing nearly half of the MLS season due to injuries and commitments to the Argentina national team. He finished the game with 20 goals and 16 assists. Luis Suarez also scored 20 goals, joining Messi as the first pair of MLS teammates to reach this milestone in a season.

The 37-year-old smiled and hugged his teammates as Suarez scored the opening goal less than two minutes into the game.

He was shown flying past a defender and, with a quick touch, fired a shot from outside the penalty area which Guzan pushed over the crossbar. He later put both hands on his head and looked up at the stands when Guzan blocked him again.

The fans stood for most of the first half. And those closest to the pitch leaned in as far as their arms would allow, cellphones outstretched, to take photos and videos of Messi as he approached.

Miami can seal the best-of-three series by winning Game 2 in Atlanta on November 2nd.