Leo Messi’s Inter Miami is eliminated in the first round of the MLS playoff

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami fell this Saturday in the first round of the MLS playoff against Atlanta United, which added its second victory in the three-game series by winning away 2-3 and eliminating those in pink.

Inter Miami was the best team of the regular season and broke the MLS points record (74), but this Saturday they suffered a hard blow when they fell to an Atlanta United that finished in ninth place in the East with 40 points and reached to the playoffs as eighth through the ‘wild card’.

Those in pink won the first game of this series 2-1 but lost 1-2 in the second. Despite playing at home, they met an Atlanta United that sealed a good performance with goalkeeper Brad Guzan as the hero, and with dynamite on the counterattacks to exploit the shortcomings behind Inter Miami.

Those in pink won the first match of the tie (2-1), but lost the second and third

Without Sergio Busquets starting due to a blow (he entered in the 78th already with 2-3), Inter Miami assumed the role that corresponded to it from the beginning: long possessions, control of the match and harassment of an opponent completely sheltered behind. However, the visiting team made it clear very quickly that they would be very dangerous on the counterattacks and in the 14th minute Thiaré sent a ball to the post.

Only three minutes after that scare, Inter Miami took the lead on the scoreboard. Messi received a ball at the penalty spot and made a mistake, which he does not usually make, but after Guzan’s enormous save the ball fell to Paraguayan Matías Rojas, who did not forgive. The script was being fulfilled and the team coached by Tata Martino had the tie on track, but Atlanta United revolutionized the game with two blows practically in a row.

In the 19th minute, Jamal Thiaré took advantage of the immense spaces behind the local defense and beat Drake Callender with a right foot into the top corner. Just two minutes later, Atlanta United went on the counterattack, Alexey Miranchuk assisted Thiaré and the Senegalese made it 1-2.

Those two goals left Inter Miami in shock, but like a wounded lion, Messi’s team launched a total siege by land, sea and air on Atlanta’s goal. Paraguayan Diego Gómez scored the equalizer but it was disallowed for offside. It was not the only opportunity for an Inter Miami with multiple avenues of attack but no precision.

Inter Miami showed signs of frustration, but the usual one came to the rescue: Messi. The 10 sealed a header in the 65th minute from a cross from his compatriot Marcelo Weigandt and the locals began to emerge from the maze. But the traps were not over. In the 76th minute and after a play that had everything, Bartosz Slisz rose at the far post to score Atlanta’s third goal with a header while Tomás Avilés, from Inter Miami, was on the ground suffering from physical problems.

In addition to this elimination in the first round, Gerardo Martino’s team fell this year in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup against Monterrey and lost in the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup against the Columbus Crew. However, FIFA, due to his good performance in the MLS regular season, gave him the invitation that the host country (USA) had for the expanded 2025 Club World Cup.