When Lionel Messi plays, Inter Miami loses their opening game of the season.
Even though Lionel Messi scored once more, Inter Miami CF's 10-match Major League Soccer unbeaten streak came to an end at the hands of Atlanta United, who won their first league game in almost two months.
Atlanta United ended a nine-match MLS losing streak on Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory behind goals from Saba Lobjanidze (one in each half) and Jamal Thiare (a strike in the 73rd minute).
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After defeating Chicago 3-0 on March 31, Atlanta was 0-5-4 in Major League Soccer. On Wednesday, however, it never trailed, as Lobjanidze put his team ahead late in the first half and then added another goal in the 59th. In the last half-hour, Atlanta defended with all ten field players anytime the home team had prolonged possession after Messi's score.
Following the game, Miami manager Gerardo Martino stated, "The first sensation is that Atlanta United played with more urgency and that we needed more." " That was evident the entire first half. However, since everything that happened was a little bit of everything, this is not a game where I need to analyse what went wrong.
On that particular night, the team lost ground, in contrast to other games where we find opportunities within the difficulties. Similar to the second half of the previous game, when we had to defend, we were unable to connect this time." The circumstances were ideal—much better for us than for them. However, they demonstrated today how deceptive their position on the table is, as we discussed yesterday."
Messi tied Luis Suárez for the team lead with his 11th goal of the Major League Soccer season. Cincinnati (10-3-3, 33 points) lost ground to Inter Miami (10-3-4, 34 points) in both the Eastern Conference and the overall MLS standings. Cincinnati was unable to secure the top spot on Wednesday night due to a loss to Nashville.
Inter Miami had a 7-0-3 record after 10 Major League Baseball games as of Wednesday. This season, in Major League Soccer (MLS), their record is 10-0-4 when conceding two goals or fewer and 0-3-0 when giving up three goals or more.
Wednesday was a bust, then. However, the season's first half has mainly gone as expected.
Inter Miami is on pace for 68 points after exactly half of the MLS schedule has been completed. With 34 points, the team has matched its total from the whole 2023 season, when Messi joined the team around the halfway point and helped it win the League Cup but was unable to advance to the playoffs.
But in practice, perhaps not so much.
Messi is expected to play at least a few minutes when Miami takes on St. Louis on Saturday, according to the current plan. Following that, Messi will switch from the pink Inter Miami uniform to the blue Argentina uniform, playing temporarily for his nation rather than his club.
The 16-team Copa América, which takes place from June 20 to July 14, is quickly approaching. Messi is scheduled to compete for Argentina, the reigning champion, while Suarez may represent Uruguay.
The MLS Cup-winning coach of Atlanta in 2018, Martino, was asked if he believed Messi was saving himself for the Copa América. He responded, "No, I will not speculate if Messi is saving himself for Copa America because [that question has] no validity."
The Miami team's MLS games against Columbus (June 19), Philadelphia (June 15), Nashville (June 29), Charlotte (July 3), and Cincinnati (July 6) may feature the former Barcelona teammates. Miami also has home games against Toronto (July 17) and Chicago (July 20) after the Copa América final.
Unlike most leagues, MLS plays its games under certain FIFA fixture windows, which require players to be released for their respective national teams. Furthermore, it appears possible that Miami will lose some players once more when national teams qualify for the Olympics in Paris following the Copa.
Messi had a few early-game opportunities, including a diving header from Jordi Alba's chip into the heart of the box four minutes in. With a smile on his face, Messi lifted himself up from the ground and gave Alba a thumbs-up for the concept after deflecting some contact and sending the ball into the turf and the carom spinning over the crossbar.
"For me, it was a game where we had to find alternatives to attack, and so we couldn't justify bringing in midfielders or midfielders with defensive characteristics like Benjamin Cremaschi," Martino stated. As a team, we depend on the ball to attack and prevail. With two lines of four, we can go away, but when we get into more offensive choices, We offer the opposition a better chance of winning than we do when there are five at the front."
And just over a jumping Robert Taylor, who would have had enough of a net to aim for had he been able to try the header, Messi delivered a chip towards the left post in the twenty-first minute.
A classic Messi masterpiece, his goal in the 63rd minute was threading the ball between two defenders and just inside the right post, just beyond the reach of a diving Atlanta goalie named Josh Cohen.
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