Lionel Messi sits out as Miami drops CCC 1st leg to Monterrey

Lionel Messi seemed on from the sidelines as Inter Miami CF misplaced 2-1 to Monterrey within the first leg of the groups’ Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Jorge Rodriguez netted a stellar objective late within the sport to give Monterrey the win on the evening, as Messi was seated at subject degree supporting his teammates of their quest for a second trophy since his arrival in the summertime of 2023.

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Messi has been coping with a proper hamstring difficulty for almost a month, and although he skilled with the remainder of the squad on Tuesday, Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino advised media forward of the match that he would not threat additional damage to his star participant.

After the match, Martino reiterated the group’s stance on Messi: “Like we said, he’s game to game. This wasn’t the game he wasn’t ready. This is how we’ll approach the match against Colorado [on Saturday] and the second leg against Monterrey.

“Every day he feels higher, however right now felt like too excessive a threat.”

Messi’s former Barcelona teammates Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba started for Miami against a Monterrey side that is second in the Liga MX Clausura. It beat MLS side FC Cincinnati 3-1 on aggregate to reach the quarters.

Tomás Avilés opened the scoring for the home side in the first half from a corner kick, but Monterrey struck back through Maximiliano Meza minutes after Miami’s David Ruiz was sent off in the 65th minute with his second yellow card of the night.

With Miami trying to hold on for the draw down a man, Rodriguez blasted a shot from outside the box past Drake Callender to give his team the win and another away goal ahead of the second leg on April 10 in Mexico, in which Miami will be desperate for its star player to be available.

“Today, given the state of affairs and the rival we had in entrance of us, understanding Monterrey had a full squad whereas we had essential absences, I favored the way in which we competed,” Martino added. “We did nicely. If I evaluate the bits of the sport that I’ve in my head, we did not undergo from goal-scoring conditions. The set piece-play that led to the equalizer was unlucky for us, then the 2-1 objective from the midfield is a product of the hierarchy that the rival has.

“But really, we competed well and that’s what I think is important and attractive for the team.

Monterrey head coach Fernando Ortiz said he had mixed feelings about Messi being held out of the game: “I like Leo, sportingly. I hold watching and hold admiring. I would like to play in opposition to him, however I would like my group to win.”

Messi last played on March 13, making a 50-minute appearance for Miami against Nashville SC in the second leg of the Champions Cup round of 16. Despite the early substitution, the Miami star contributed to the 3-1 victory with a goal and an assist.

“We performed in opposition to Nashville [in the round of 16],” Martino said. “But when one will get [into] to the later rounds and begins taking part in essential video games in opposition to one of the best groups of the continent, it is a lesson for the membership. The youthful gamers and in that state of affairs, we matched the extent of the sport.

“I cannot find points where I can say the team suffered for a specific reason. Maybe at certain points we went back especially in the second half, but I thought we were organized, we cut away and went well to the spaces. I don’t have anything particularly important to point out as negative.”

Overall, Messi has scored 5 targets and added two assists in 5 matches throughout all competitions for Miami this season earlier than getting injured. He additionally missed each of Argentina’s friendlies within the final worldwide window due to the damage.

The MLS facet bypassed the preliminary spherical of the Champions Cup by profitable the inaugural version of Leagues Cup in 2023, earlier than beating Nashville within the spherical of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals.

The subsequent match for Messi and Miami is an MLS dwelling sport in opposition to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. It is unknown right now whether or not he shall be accessible for that sport.