Lionel Messi came, he saw and he won, but he was also shut out for the first time this season.
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Inter Miami CF scored three unanswered goals to win 3-2 over CF Montreal on Saturday evening in front of a packed house of 19,619 spectators who came to admire the best player in the world.
Well surprise, after a record performance of one goal and five assists last week, he was silenced by Montreal. The fans still chanted his name at the end of the match.
It’s practically a feat that the Bleu-blanc-noir achieved despite the defeat if we consider that in his first 8 games of the season, the Argentinian amassed 10 goals and 12 assists, which means that before Saturday, he had participated in an average of 2.75 goals per game.
We also take our hat off to goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois who had his say at the end of the match to muzzle Messi.
The hungry elders
Everyone was waiting to see Messi give his show, but it was Inter Miami alumni Bryce Duke and Ariel Lassiter who hosted the first half hour.
Traded to Montreal a few months before Messi joined Inter, they certainly had an additional source of motivation.
But let’s not forget Jules-Anthony Vilsaint who was complicit in Duke’s goal (22nd minute) and who scored on a pass from Lassiter ten minutes later.
Everything was going well in the best of all possible worlds, but the old demons of CF Montreal came back to haunt him. Set-plays have been difficult for years and it continued as Miami erased a 2-0 lead by scoring on a free kick and a corner kick in the space of four minutes before the end of the first half. The goal from a corner was the work of Luis Suarez, already his 11th in 13 games this season.
Not impressed
What emerged from this meeting was that the CF Montreal players did not remain in awe of Messi and his friends for very long.
We think here of George Campbell who mistreated the Argentinian as much as Luis Suarez.
We can even say that apart from one or two small moments of technical brilliance from Messi, it was the Bleu-blanc-noir who dominated the first half.
The crowd did not fall in love with the football artist either. There were definitely “ho”s and “ha”s at certain moments because we can’t resist when Messi gives the opponent a sombrero or manages to make a perfect pass on the side of the foot having three players around him, but it remained very sober.
Because everyone feared that the stadium would lean a lot towards the men in pink, we can say that we were completely wrong. CF Montreal remained in control despite the score at the conclusion of the match.
HIGHLIGHTS
90+1 : Lionel Messi spins with the ball near the Montreal net, but it’s Jonathan Sirois who has the last word
88e minute: Lionel Messi attempts a second free kick this evening, narrowly misses the target this time
77 minutes: Jonathan Sirois makes a superb save at the expense of Robert Taylor
67e minute: Sergio Busquets receives a yellow card following a foul against Mathieu Choinière and no, he is not happy
59e minute: GOAL – Benjamin Cremaschi receives a nice pass and plays luck to beat both Ariel Lassiter and Jonathan Sirois, giving Miami the lead
45e + 3: GOAL – Luis Suarez ties Miami on corner kick
44e minute: GOAL – Matias Rojas reduces the gap with a superb free kick from distance
40e minute: George Campbell fouls Messi, who writhes in pain for a while, but remains in the match
32e minute: GOAL – Jules-Anthony Vilsaint scores with a precise shot after receiving a perfect pass from Ariel Lassiter, 2-0 Montreal!
28e minute: Mathieu Choinière takes a good shot well on target and is robbed of a goal by Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender
22e minute: GOAL – Bryce Duke, who is playing this evening against his former team, finds himself alone in front of goalkeeper Drake Callender, passes the ball between his legs and it is Montreal which takes the lead!
21e minute: New blunder from Joel Waterman, who hands the ball directly to Luis Suarez with Messi nearby; the Montreal defender then manages to unskillfully clear
17e minute: Messi threatens, pushes Joel Waterman to make a mistake and obtains a free kick, which he then sends into the stands, a rarity in his case
