Inter Miami revalidated its candidate credentials in the Concacaf Champions League by easily beating Nashville SC 3-1 at Chase Stadium and thus sealing its ticket to the quarterfinals, where it awaits the winner of Monterrey and Cincinnati ( The Mexicans won the first leg 1-0). Lionel Messi was the great figure of the match, providing an assist for Luis Suárez and scoring a nice goal.
However, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner set off all the alarms again due to his physical condition. The captain of Las Garzas suffered a muscle problem at the beginning of the complement and was replaced by Robert Taylor, who scored the third goal in the 63rd minute after an assist from Pistolero.
Lionel Messi’s health was one of the main topics in the press conference given by Gerardo Martino. “He has an overload in the right posterior. There was no need to take any kind of risk. We tried to see if she could hold on a little longer, but she was bothering him. That’s why we prefer him to leave the game,” said the DT. It is worth remembering that the man from Rosario, who received a hard iron from Lukas MacNaughton in the first leg, had a rest last weekend in the loss against Montreal Impact.
“I don’t want to risk it but I imagine that he won’t be available for Saturday’s game. It’s the only thing I could say for what’s to come. Then we will evaluate. Surely they will take some image of it and we will see how it evolves,” the coach warned. Inter Miami, which leads the Eastern Conference with seven points along with Toronto FC, Columbus Crew, New York RB and Montreal Impact (although with one more game than its rivals), will travel to Washington this weekend to face DC United.
This situation also generated intrigue within the coaching staff of the Argentine team headed by Lionel Scaloni, since on Friday, March 22, they will face El Salvador at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and on Wednesday, March 27, they will clash against Costa Rica at United Airlines Field in The Angels.
“We are aware that when the season started, due to different circumstances, Leo will not be part of all the games. But what I want to point out is that if he was decisive and had a lot of impact in 15 years in Barcelona, in a couple of years at PSG and throughout his career in the Argentine team, why wouldn’t he be it for us. It is not just about replacing a footballer, but the best footballer of all. When the rival is 2-0 down and it was a decisive match and starts to take risks, we are not used to seeing Leo and Luis 2 against 2 when the rival team is on the attack, because they generally take precautions. They become more encouraged, and it is logical, they were left out. We have to readjust the game to the lack of it. “One thing is a well-planned match and another is to readjust it a few minutes into the second half.”
Gerardo Martino
Although Gerardo Martino raised doubts regarding the physical condition of Lionel Messi in the face of the string of matches that are coming to him both with Inter Miami and with the Argentine national team, regarding the end of the match against Nashville, with the pass to the quarterfinals final of the Concacaf Champions (a competition that provides a ticket to the Club World Cup), the Argentine was in good spirits and smiling on the substitute bench.
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