Without Lionel Messi in the team sheet, Inter Miami crashed to their first defeat of the season, losing 2-3 at home against Montreal on Sunday. Messi, who sustained a shin injury in the 2-2 CONCACAF draw vs Nashville was present, watching the match from a sideline box.
Leonarda Campana leveled proceedings for Inter Miami in the 71st-minute after Montreal took a 1-0 lead in the first-half, courtesy of a header from Fernando Alvarez. But Miami’s defence were in poor form, as Montreal took a two-goal lead with goals from Matias Coccaro and Sunusi Ibrahim in less than a five-minute span.
Despite the defeat, Miami had some positives, especially when Jordi Alba channeled his inner-Lionel Messi to score a consolation goal. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box, Alba curled in his shot to the top corner.
Here is the goal:
Explaining Messi’s absence, Miami assistant coach Javier Morales said, “We all know Leo. He’s a player who wants to play every game. I think we will have a conversation with him, see how he is and try to decide what is best for him.”
Meanwhile, Miami head coach Tata Martino said, “They asked me ten days ago if we were going to do a rotation. Today we did a rotation. There’s no other answer.”
“I think we should have won the game. We merited winning the game. What worries me is that we are a team that is not defending as hard as we should,” he further added.
Messi is expected to return for Miami’s CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Nashville. He was in the scoresheet, alongwith Luis Suarez, in the first leg as Miami managed to secure a 2-2 draw. Messi will also be looking to avoid fatigue and exhaustion in the upcoming months due to the Copa America, where Argentina are defending champions.