In the final twenty-five minutes of Wednesday’s eagerly awaited encounter in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal, Inter Miami’s 1-0 advantage vanished out of the sky, leaving Lionel Messi with little choice but to slouch on the bench in street clothes.
Maximiliano Meza of Monterrey scored in the 69th minute at Chase Stadium, just after David Ruiz of Miami was sent off, and Jorge Rodríguez scored in the 89th to give Monterrey a 2-1 victory over Inter Miami…
In one of the biggest games in the history of the team, Rodriguez’s goal was set up by a careless clearing by Diego Gomez, demonstrating Inter Miami’s reliance on youth to step in for Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba.
Tomás Avilés of Miami scored with his right foot in the 18th minute after Julian Gressel’s corner kick. During the second half, the team mostly focused on defending Monterrey to maintain the score tight rather than going for a second goal through attack.
Messi, the Argentine World Cup winner, was almost completely ignored by Inter Miami until Ruiz was sent off following two yellow cards, the last of which was for an elbow and a head swipe in the second half. After being reduced to playing with just ten men, Inter Miami’s 1-0 lead vanished in the first 68 minutes of play.
Martino stated, “We suffered much more when we had to play the last 20 minutes without one player than I thought we would have.” Messi’s possible return will determine their prospects of moving past Monterrey in the second leg in Mexico on Wednesday. Or in just one week, the team’s second opportunity to contend for a championship in its brief five-year existence—after Messi guided Inter Miami to the Leagues Cup victory the previous summer—will come to an end.
“We have better players than Inter Miami,” declared Fernando Ortiz, the Monterrey coach, with confidence as they took the field.
Up until Miami collapsed with one player off the field, he was mistaken for the most of the game.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and Argentine World Cup champion Messi’s comeback to activity is unknown. On Saturday, Inter Miami will play host to the Colorado Rapids; on Wednesday, April 10, they will travel to Monterrey for the second leg.
Messi has participated in five games this season, recording five goals and two assists, although he has also missed five games in all competitions.
Inter Miami 1 , Monterrey 0
Drake Callender, the goalie for Miami, made the first stop but was unable to make the second.
This match is knotted at one goal thanks to a rebound from Maximiliano Meza of Monterrey after Callender deflected a header. The ball went through the net directly beneath Callender.
Inter Miami 1 , Monterrey 0 , Tomas Aviles Goal
Coach Tata Martino conducted a group hug among the Inter Miami bench members, with Lionel Messi standing by them.
The 18th minute saw Inter Miami take a 1-0 lead against Monterrey without Messi thanks to a goal from teenage Argentine striker Tomás Avilés, who scored with his right foot from a corner kick via Julian Gressel.
What is known about the injury to Messi
Messi was chosen on the day of play. With his updates on Messi’s injury, Miami coach Tata Martino has kept Monterrey and soccer fans worldwide on edge.
Due to a right hamstring injury, Messi hasn’t played since March 13. He has missed two friendly with Argentina this past month in addition to missing three Inter Miami games during the MLS regular season.