In the Champions Cup, Inter Miami falls 2-1 to Monterrey as Messi sits and the team concedes two late goals.

On Wednesday night, Inter Miami faced its most difficult test of the season without Lionel Messi. Although they seemed to be the stronger side for 68 minutes, they lost 2-1 in the home leg of the Champions Cup quarterfinal against Mexican power Monterrey.
After an unnecessary foul in the 65th minute, Miami midfielder David Ruiz was sent off with a second yellow card, setting up Monterrey’s two goals.

The game-winning goal was scored by Jorge Rodriguez in the 89th minute after a careless ball by Miami player Diego Gomez that was intercepted just outside the area. Maximiliano Meza had scored the equalizer for the visiting Mexican team in the 69th minute.
Messi dressed shabbily for the widely reported match, which made headlines across Mexico. The lead-up to the game at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale was broadcast live throughout the day by Mexican radio and television presenters. There was a big crowd supporting Los Rayados (The Striped Ones) wearing blue and white striped jerseys. Upon Monterrey’s second goal, supporters yelled, “Messi Tuvo Miedo!” (Messi was terrified!)
Since sustaining a hamstring issue in the last Champions Cup round against Nashville on March 13, Messi has missed four straight games. Additionally, he was not present for the March 10 match against CF Montreal, as head coach Tata Martino rested some of his starting lineup.
Martino had said on Tuesday that Messi’s status for the Monterrey match will be determined on game day. This season, the squad has lost three of its four games without him while going winless in his five games.
After the game, Martino said, “We had said Leo will be day to day, and he was not ready to play today, it would have been too much of a risk.” “We will reassess for the Colorado game (on Saturday) and the return leg against Monterrey next week (on Wednesday), as he is getting better every day.”
The series’ second leg, which is determined by aggregate score, will see the sides square off again in Monterrey on April 10 at 10:30 p.m. Away goals will be used as a tiebreaker if the clubs are level after two games.
After Wednesday night’s game, Messi and a couple of his teammates are said to have had angry conversations with Monterrey coach Fernando Ortiz. This suggests that the rematch in Mexico will be intense. Merely to voice their displeasure at Ortiz’s divisive pregame remarks, Messi and a few teammates addressed him in the tunnel, according to Mexican announcer Fernando Schwartz, who was collaborating with Fox Sports, the rights holder.
According to quotes from Ortiz, Messi’s squad would have an edge over the officials since soccer is a business and the referees may prefer Inter Miami because of him. It came up that six players received yellow cards and one player was red-carded for Miami. It was three yellow cards for Monterrey.
In the semifinals, the victor of this round will face the winner of Columbus Crew vs. Tigres of Mexico. In addition to receiving $5 million in prize money, the victor of the June 2 final advances to the United States for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Even though his side lost, Martino thought they performed well.
Martino said, “I thought we did well for seventy minutes.” “I felt that the first half should have seen us score two goals. You have to be really alert, extremely reliable, and not make mistakes when you are playing a top opponent when players from the Mexican and Chilean national teams are substituting for Hector Moreno when he comes off the bench.While we hadn’t made any mistakes throughout the play, we did make a regrettable move. I thought our competition was good considering Monterrey had a full squad while we were missing important players.
In the 19th minute, center defender Tomas Aviles gave Miami the lead with a right-footed volley to the goal’s roof after a corner kick from Julian Gessel. For the remainder of the half, the men in pink applied pressure to the Monterrey midfield, and they led the game going into halftime.
“We played against a fantastic team that performed admirably for the first ninety minutes,” Ortiz said. “I am fortunate to have excellent players on the team who understood their responsibilities following Ruiz’s expulsion.”
According to Ortiz, his squad anticipates playing Messi on Saturday.
“I have stated and will reiterate that he is the greatest player of all time; we were hoping he would play,” Ortiz remarked. He’s not able to be here. With any luck, he’ll be there for the return leg so we can enjoy him and finish the task at hand to go on to the next round.
Since Messi was not available, Martino started with Nico Freire, Robert Taylor, Adrian Gressel, Drake Callender, Tomas Aviles, Nico Freire, Jordi Alba, Diego Gomez, Sergio Busquets, David Ruiz, Julian Gressel, and Luis Suarez.
Leo Afonso, a winger on the second team who signed a first team deal on Friday and lives in Boca Raton, made his Inter Miami debut. After Ruiz was sent off in the 67th minute, he came off the bench to replace the injured Robert Taylor. Ryan Sailor, the center defender, took his position for the end of the game.
The squad used a 4-3-3 configuration to start the game, but when Los Rayados got the ball, they switched to a more cautious 4-5-1 shape. This strategy worked well until Miami lost a player.
“We didn’t have enough legs with 10 men to play for the last 20 minutes against a team that demands you to play with great energy,” Martino said.
As a very young player, Ruiz, 20, was asked how he was coping with his expulsion. Martino said, “Everything is a learning experience, and David is a very young player.” He is a very motivated player who aspires to continue improving. Due to certain circumstances, he was forced to start this crucial game. I felt he performed well while he was on the field, and the expulsion served as a teaching moment as well. You may benefit from these youthful blunders for the whole of your professional life.
Ruiz’s second infraction included unwarranted touch with Meza. Sensing the seriousness of his error, Ruiz padded back to the bench.
Left center back Freire returned to action after missing the previous game due to a hamstring injury. The Argentine right back, Weigandt, started for the second time since he joined the squad last week.

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