Messi came off the bench in the second half in Jamaica as the Herons move on to face Los Angeles FC
Messi came off the bench in the second half in Jamaica as the Herons move on to face Los Angeles FC
Fans lined up outside of Independence Park more than two hours before Inter Miami’s Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 clash with Cavalier SC hoping to catch a glimpse of Lionel Messi during a 2-0 victory (4-0 on aggregate) for Miami to move on to the quarterfinals where they’ll face Los Angeles FC.
Fans had to wait longer than expected but when he took off his warm-up bib to chants of, “Messi, Messi, Messi” to replace Luis Suarez in the 52nd minute, the stadium broke out in cheers as Messi got his first game time since Feb. 25 against Sporting Kansas City in Champions Cup play. Messi would make it worth the wait by scoring in stoppage time with the final kick of the game to a cherry on top of advancing and continuing his streak of scoring or assisting in all five appearances for the Herons in all competitions this season.
During that time, Miami were able to win three consecutive matches scoring seven goals and only allowing one showing that they have gotten stronger overall even when Messi doesn’t play. But with a revenge match over the weekend where they’ll face an Atlanta United side that knocked them out of the MLS Cup playoffs in the first round last season, playing Messi here will help knock off a little rust ahead of Sunday before he then departs for international duty with Argentina for World Cup qualifying.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring with a powerful finish from the penalty spot after Tadeo Allende was fouled in the 37th minute giving Miami an all-important away goal to put this clash out of reach.
It continues an unbeaten start under new manager Javier Mascherano even without their talisman for three of those matches. He missed the squad in two games due to load management but returned to the bench over the weekend facing Charlotte FC.
Despite Miami going down to 10 men in that match, they were able to go ahead in the first half so he ended up not being used and did the same facing Cavalier in Jamaica. It was a slow start to the match as heavy rain earlier in the day created a less than ideal pitch but Miami were able to get their opener via Suarez for a lead that they wouldn’t let up.
While it’s impressive to see the wins, it’s also impressive that this Miami side has only allowed four goals in seven matches in all competitions with part of that being due to the shift of Noah Allen from left back to becoming a center back. Able to bring the ball up the pitch, Allen has been able to help push the pace in attack while also being a strong presence in defense balancing responsibilities well.
When Messi came in, Suarez and Sergio Busquets were also rested after they’ve been leaned upon heavily during his absence. It may be brief rests for the duo but in a long season where Miami’s taking part in three competitions outside of the league, any time that players can be rested will go a long way. Their depth took a hit with David Ruiz picking up an injury only 15 minutes in but with the international break looming, if it’s not too severe, he’ll have time to recover.
For now, the pressure is on other teams to show that they can stop the Herons as even in adverse conditions, they’re getting the job done. Only time will tell if they can keep up this pace but after setting an MLS single-season points record with 74 points last season, it’s already clear that this is a special group so if they’re able to take things up a notch from there, multiple trophies will be in their future.