Messi has been dealing with a right hamstring injury for nearly a month. Although the Argentine star has been training with Miami’s secondary squad, coach Gerardo Martino told the media before the match that he would not Risking Messi more injuries.
After the 1-2 loss to the visiting team Monterrey, coach Martino reiterated his opinion about Lionel Messi: “As I said, Messi plays match after match. This is a match that Messi is not ready for, which is also the way to play. We let him rest for the next match against Colorado at the weekend and the return match against Monterrey in the middle of next week. Every day, Messi feels better, but I don’t want him to be at too high a risk.”
Messi’s former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba started for Miami against second-placed Monterrey in the Mexican league, who beat MLS side FC Cincinnati 3-1 on aggregate to win. reached the quarter-finals.
Leading thanks to Toto Aviles’ goal in the first half, Inter Miami was defeated 2-1 by Monterrey thanks to goals from Max Meza and Jorge Rodriguez. It’s easy to see that Inter Miami didn’t seem to be able to do much in the second half. The host faced many difficulties and the situation became worse when David Ruiz received a red card in the 65th minute.
Without Messi’s presence, Inter Miami is no different than a mediocre team. Although the giants of the American Professional League, led by strategist Gerardo Martino, have been strengthened by some famous names who are former teammates of Messi, they cannot shine without the leader who won the Ballon d’Or 8 times. Yellow.
Since Messi joined Inter Miami in July 2023, this club’s statistics have been very bad without Messi. Inter Miami’s record without Messi is 2 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses.
On the contrary, Inter Miami’s performance with Messi is much better. With the 37-year-old striker on the field, the players of Beckham’s co-owned team won 11 wins, 6 draws and lost only 2 matches. Inter Miami has been without Messi in the last 4 matches. As a result, Inter Miami had to receive 2 defeats and only won 1 victory.
Notably, coach Gerardo Martino also cannot ensure that Messi is in the best condition to play in the next two matches against Colorado Rapids (7-4) and Monterrey (11-4) in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals. 2024. Messi last played on March 13, appearing for 50 minutes for Miami against Nashville SC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16 second leg. Despite being replaced early, Miami’s star contributed to the 3-1 victory with a goal and an assist.
Messi scored 5 goals and added 2 assists in 5 matches in all competitions for Miami this season before getting injured. He also missed both of Argentina’s friendly matches in the last international competition due to injury.
