Lionel Messi scored his first goal of the expanded Club World Cup on a patented free kick in the 54th minute to break a tie in Inter Miami's 2-1 victory over Porto on Thursday.

Messi was taken down just outside the penalty area by Rodrigo Mora on a run down the middle of the field. With chants of "Messi! Messi!" rocking Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the 37-year-old Argentine star's left-footed blast cleared the wall and sailed into the top right corner.

Pablo Barrios scored twice and Atlético Madrid beat the Seattle Sounders 3-1 on Thursday in the Club World Cup.

Giuliano Simeone found Barrios at the top of the penalty box in transition to open the scoring in the 11th minute.

In the end, not even Saudi Arabia or Gianni Infantino could engineer a way to get Cristiano Ronaldo to the Club World Cup.

FIFA president Infantino certainly tried - last month making a public appeal ahead of the tournament.

Draw made Wednesday for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League:

League Path

Pedro Neto scored in the first half and Enzo Fernández in the 79th minute to give Chelsea a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in Group D's Club World Cup opener on Monday.

Chelsea put pressure on LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris early in the match. Neto scored in the 34th minute, picking up a pass from Nicolas Jackson and cutting onto his left foot for a near-post finish.

Benfica overcame a two-goal deficit, getting Ángel Di María's penalty kick in first-half stoppage time and Nicolás Otamendi's 84th-minute goal for a 2-2 draw against Boca Juniors on Monday night in a heated Club World Cup match that included three red cards, four yellows and 22 fouls.

Boca Juniors played in a home-like environment with the Argentine club's supporters making up most of the 55,574 crowd at Hard Rock Stadium against one of Portugal's premier teams. Both teams finished a man down and one Boca player was sent off after he was substituted from the match due to injury.

Claudio Ranieri turned down Italy to stay at Roma. Gian Piero Gasperini chose the capital club over Juventus and left Atalanta after transforming the Bergamo team into a top contender in Italy and Europe.

The two white-haired coaches sat side by side on the stage during Gasperini's presentation as Roma's new coach on Tuesday.

A long and engrossing qualifying journey of 16 games, while dealing with the obstacles of a war, came crashing down in an instant for Oday Dabbagh and his Palestinian team.

Their legacy will long continue.

German 17-year-old Justin Engel became the youngest player since Boris Becker 40 years ago to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP Tour grass-court tournament by making the last eight at the Stuttgart Open on Thursday.

Engel beat seventh-seeded Alex Michelsen of the United States 6-4, 6-4 to become the youngest quarterfinalist ever in Stuttgart. He is the youngest man to reach the quarters of any grass-court event since Becker won Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 1985.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was officially introduced by Real Madrid on Thursday, saying he was fulfilling his dream to play for the Spanish powerhouse and under his idol Xavi Alonso.

The 26-year-old England back was the latest reinforcement on defense for Madrid after a season in which the back line struggled following injuries.