Son's LAFC defeats Messi and Miami in MLS season opener

Son Heung-min bested Lionel Messi in the battle of Major League Soccer's global superstars, spearheading a comfortable 3-0 win for Los Angeles FC over Inter Miami on the US league's opening weekend.

The South Korean, already beloved in California as he embarks on his first full season, set up a first-half strike for David Martinez, before Denis Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz sealed victory.

Leading the Black-and-Gold's potent attacking trio with Bouanga and Martinez, Son cantered through the center of Miami's defense all night, raucously cheered by some 76,000 fans -- the second-largest attendance in MLS history.

The Saturday night game had been moved to the cavernous Memorial Coliseum to accommodate the demand for MLS's two best-known players, with commissioner Don Garber boasting the league could have sold out LAFC's usual stadium "five times."

But for those who poured in to see eight-time Ballon d'Or-winner Messi there were slim pickings, as the tightly marked 38-year-old failed to get a shot on target despite Miami dominating possession.

"We just prepared for the best Messi, and when you prepare for the best Messi, around the box you have to have numbers around him," said LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos.

"It's good to win like this... We were able to suffer together as a team," added the manager, whose team had just returned from a mid-week CONCACAF Champions Cup game in Honduras.