Lionel Messi wore street clothes and watched from a sideline VIP box as Montreal took advantage of several Inter Miami defensive miscues to hand his team its first loss of the season on Sunday evening.
Messi did not play after previously being listed as questionable with a shin injury, and Montreal took advantage to run out 3-2 winners, with a stunning long-range Jordi Alba strike not enough to earn Miami anything from the game.
Messi’s injury happened in a 2-2 draw at Nashville in the CONCACAF Champions Cup last week. The Argentine World Cup winner went to contest a pass from Nashville’s Lukas Macnaughton, who appeared to step on the 36-year-old’s calf and cause his left ankle to twist. Trainers tended to Messi as he writhed in pain on the pitch in the 77th minute, but he remained in the match.
Inter Miami assistant coach Javier Morales said Messi left the game with a bruise.
Resting the eight-time Ballon d´Or winner makes sense – Inter Miami will play two more games over the next six days. That’s four games in a ten-day stretch.
Lionel Messi sits alongside his wife Antonela to watch his Inter Miami team lose to Montreal
Messi was joined by his wife and his children in a VIP box alongside the field at Chase Stadium
Messi chats to his son during the MLS game – but on the field, his teammates missed his talent
OH MY JORDI ALBAAAAA pic.twitter.com/fdUUezOjQV
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 10, 2024
And Messi was called up to represent the Argentinian national team in a pair of Copa America warm-up matches on March 22 and 26, which could mean potentially six matches in 20 days for the veteran who had played in all four of Inter Miami’s games in the 2024 season.
Leonarda Campana scored the tying goal for Miami in the 71st minute Sunday after Montreal took a 1-0 lead early in the first half on a header from Fernando Álvarez.
Off a cross from Lawson Sunderland, Campana injected life into the crowd at Chase Stadium when he sent a header into the bottom left corner of the net.
Jordi Alba celebrates after scoring a stunning goal to reduce the deficit for Inter Miami
Montreal forward Sunusi Ibrahim celebrates after scoring against Inter Miami on Sunday
Montreal handed Inter Miami its first defeat of the 2024 MLS season on Sunday afternoon
But in a game that was one of Inter Miami’s sloppiest of the season, Montreal took a two-goal lead with scores from Matías Cóccaro and Sunusi Ibrahim in less than a five-minute span.
It was Inter Miami’s first loss of the young season, despite having chances down the stretch. Jordi Alba sent a left-footed shot from outside the box into the top left corner to make it 3-2.
Inter Miami will face Nashville again on Wednesday in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 matchup.
