Neal: A Lionel Messi goal, a Minnesota United victory. What more could we ask? Well, there’s one thing

In the end, most everyone got what they hoped for at Allianz Field on Saturday.

The Loons took down Inter Miami with a comprehensive 4-1 victory. And the Herons’ lone goal was scored by the master himself, Lionel Messi.

The only folks who left the stadium disappointed were Inter Miami players and some fans who wanted to see a little more of Messi but were denied by a Major League Soccer security directive.

On a glorious Saturday afternoon, fans gathered at Allianz Field earlier than usual to see the greatest footballer perform in the Twin Cities since 46,164 visited Metropolitan Stadium in 1976 to watch Pelé and the New York Cosmos play the Kicks.

Fans lined up at gates more than two hours before kickoff. The energy in the Interstate 94 and Snelling area was evident as fans were treated to an outdoor concert in the parking lot as they waited. But hundreds of fans were lined up at the players’ entrance, and not to watch the Loons march in. It also is the area buses normally drop off the visiting team.

It was in this area where I walked past a father in the middle of a discussion with someone I’m assuming was his son.

Father: “I want to go inside to watch Messi play soccer. You want to watch Messi walk off the bus. It’s your choice. Which one?”

Son: “Watch Messi watch off the bus.”

Moments later, I struck up a conversation with a fellow who was staking out the players’ entrance as well. I told him my hypothesis is that there are two groups of soccer fans in this area, Loons fans and those who prefer to follow European soccer leagues.

He patted me on the shoulder and said, “There you go,” and mentioned that he has attended Champions League games.

So the Messi Effect was real at Allianz Field on Saturday. You wonder why MLS would invest in aging footballers, and here is your answer. They draw eyes. The substantial number of children in Messi jerseys Saturday proved that. It was worth the investment when MLS brought David Beckham across the pond in 2007, and it is with Messi now.

About 30 minutes later, two luxury buses arrived at Allianz Field. Inter Miami had arrived. The problem: The players entered through the loading dock on the other side of the stadium, where only a couple of dozen fans waited for the gates to open. The hundreds on the other side of the stadium had no idea and were waiting in vain in the name of security.

Taking care of the league’s biggest draw, whose compensation package tops $20 million a season, is understandable. But create a 50-yard barrier around the players’ entrance so fans, particularly the young ones, can enjoy the moment when Messi gets off the bus and enters the stadium.

The Loons, looking to validate their promising start to the season by taking down a team in their weight class, came out on point. Bongokuhle Hlongwane took a feed from Carlos Harvey and beat Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari just inside the far post in the 32nd minute. Anthony Markanich made it 2-0 in stoppage time when he headed home a ball that Nicolás Romero had headed across the goal.

Three minutes into the second half Messi took advantage of Jefferson Diaz’s statuesque defensive strategy, swiveled around him and scored to make it 2-1. A rare moment a goal by a visiting team was celebrated more than jeered.

“It’s almost nice, in a sense, that Messi had his moment here and those that have turned up solely for that reason were able to see that,” Loons coach Eric Ramsay said.

The Miami fans were teased into thinking they were back in the game, but the Loons scored twice more before the time expired.

Right before Robin Lod scored the Loons’ final goal of the day, I snuck into a suite of big kids who were there for the spectacle: the Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello; the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones and Jordan Addison; the Frost’s Taylor Heise; the Gophers’ Parker Fox; and gold medal-winning curler John Shuster and current teammate Chris Plys.

Fox jumped out of his seat when Lod scored in the 70th minute. “This is awesome,” he yelled. Heise talked about Lee Stecklein’s reincarnation as a scoring defender, as her two goals Friday helped the Frost even their playoff series with Toronto.

Shuster had his sons Luke, who turned 12 on Saturday, and Logan, 9, with him. Jefferson took a birthday selfie with Luke, and both little Shusters had their caps autographed by Jefferson, Jones, Kaprizov and Zuccarello.

Everyone got what they wanted, and more, on Saturday. Except for those who wanted to see Messi walk off the bus.