Inter Miami will seek to turn the series against Rayados for the Concachampions – – 2024-04-12 21:13:36

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will look to reverse a 2-1 deficit this Wednesday, when they face Monterrey in search of a ticket to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

The Argentine star was absent from the first leg, played the previous week in Florida. Eight times awarded the Ballon d’Or, Messi recovered from a hamstring injury that kept him out of action since a match against Nashville, held on March 13 in the Champions Cup.

Messi’s return did not come until the second half of Saturday’s game, a visit to Colorado in the MLS. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.

“He’s fine, he felt good after playing 45 minutes last Saturday. We have today’s training left, but apparently the injury is behind us,” stressed the Argentine coach of Inter Miami, Gerardo Martino. “That is the most important thing, regardless of tomorrow’s game. The season is just beginning and what we need is healthy players.”

Tickets for the meeting sold out in a matter of hours. On resale, tickets reached prices between $450 and $1,900.

“Leo’s presence transcends any type of situation, people love football regardless of the shirt. “We were sure that this was going to happen,” added “Tata” Martino. “We did not expect a different reception because we have among us the best player in the world. “We thought it was going to be like this.”

Messi did not speak to the press. He has done so only twice since he signed with Inter Miami on July 15. He appeared before the media on August 17 in Florida and on February 6, during a preseason tour.

Hundreds of Mexican fans began gathering Tuesday morning in front of the Miami hotel in San Pedro Garza García, a wealthy suburb of Monterrey.

“It’s crazy, there are too many Messi fans out here,” said Juan Escalante, a 29-year-old employee who took time off work to go see his idol. “I arrived very early, but unfortunately the truck (bus) passed very quickly and I couldn’t see it.”

Miami took the lead in last week’s match, through a goal by Tomás Avilés in the 19th minute. Monterrey took the lead with a goal from Argentine Maximiliano Meza in the 69th minute and another from his compatriot Jorge Rodríguez in the 89th.

Since CONCACAF considers away goals as a tiebreaker, Miami requires more than a 1-0 win.

“The first 90 minutes were decided in favor of Monterrey and that does not allow us to speculate much,” Martino acknowledged. “We have only one chance, which is to win the game and not even by one goal as long as we don’t score at least two goals.”

Also Argentine Fernando Ortiz, Monterrey’s strategist, said that his team is aware of what Messi can achieve.

“We are Monterrey, we are at home, with our people, let Messi worry about us,” he warned. “It’s a lucky thing to be with the best in the world, to enjoy it, but we’re going to want to win.”

Los Rayados have been crowned five times in CONCACAF, the last in 2021.

“Monterrey is not going to change, it is not going to preserve the sporting advantage that we have. I am not of the idea of ​​preserving a result, we are going to propose where we have to play, not wait for anything,” Ortiz added. “Monterrey is going to go for the result.”