Messi missed two free kick opportunities in his first home Major League Soccer encounter, keeping him off the scoresheet for the first time in his stint with Inter Miami.
For the first time since Lionel Messi joined the team, Inter Miami drew 0-0 with Nashville without scoring.
In his first home Major League Soccer match, Messi missed two free kick opportunities, keeping him off the scoresheet for the first time in his stint with Inter Miami.
Even so, Inter Miami gained a point in the standings as it attempts to push for the playoffs later in the season. Miami needed to climb up from 14th to ninth place with 11 regular-season games remaining in order to make the playoffs as they entered the game 11 points below the MLS playoff line.
Miami had won its previous nine games, and the presence of Messi immediately gave the club a lift. He has 11 goals to his credit, with three multi-goal games.
Tata Martino, the coach of Inter Miami, stated that despite their success, the group is still coming together after going through so many changes over the previous two months.
Weeks after letting go of Phil Neville, Miami hired Martino in June. Messi helped Miami win all seven of its Leagues Cup games as well as its semifinal U.S. Open Cup match despite having the lowest record among the 15 Eastern Conference teams at the time. Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, two of Messi’s old teammates from Barcelona, were also signed by the team since his arrival.
Martino said that they hadn’t worked with the team for a full week. The fact that we play every four days has prevented us from having adequate time to prepare and continue forming this team, despite the fact that we have evolved through Leagues Cup and Open Cup competitions. However, we have been able to make corrections through movies and observe advancements through games. After coming on in the 60th minute of Miami’s previous game against the New York Red Bulls, Messi and Busquets started the game on Wednesday.
For the first 60 minutes of Wednesday’s game, Miami had no shots on target as it struggled to get past Nashville’s defence.
After Nashville’s Dax McCarty was fouled in the 61st minute, Messi attempted a free kick, but Elliot Panicco blocked the shot to the bottom-left corner.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner scored in the 94th minute of his debut to give Miami a victory over Mexico’s Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup opener, but Inter Miami supporters still brought out their phones to record the free kick.
Hany Mukhtar of Nashville had a score disallowed in the 69th minute due to an offside ruling.
In the 83rd minute, Messi was given another opportunity, but his attempt rebounded off the defence.
The match was won by Miami’s Kamal Miller, who made multiple plays. “They sat back with nine, ten guys at a time,” he remarked. It’s quite annoying, but we have to adjust. Most teams will likely use that strategy against us right now. Following the game, Martino echoed same remarks and credited Nashville’s defence for winning the match.
“I think when you put many players close to your own goal, normally you’re going to have a good chance at keeping a clean sheet,” Martino said.
Miller claimed that it was challenging to get Messi the same looks as before since Nashville was so tightly clustered near the goal. In particular, if Nashville served as a successful defensive model for Inter Miami’s future opponents, the squad can’t solely rely on Messi, he noted.
Miller remarked, “It’s really the first time a team has done it to us so obviously. “We’re going to review the video, and I’m sure the coaching staff will think of methods for us to disassemble the opposing team. I believe the simplest solution is simply moving the ball more quickly. Ten days ago, the two teams squared off in the Leagues Cup final. Miami won the first-ever championship after an 11-round shootout of penalty kicks after Messi scored early in regulation and made the opening kick in the shootout.
On the pitch on Wednesday in front of their home supporters, Messi and Inter Miami players posed with co-owner Jorge Mas holding the Leagues Cup trophy for the first time.
