With Lionel Messi absent due to injury, but with a fired-up Luis “Pistolero” Suárez, with the support of his teammates in Barcelona, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets from the start, Inter Miami drew 1-1 against New York FC at Chase Stadium for the 6th round of the MLS.
They were barely 13 minutes old when Lucho appeared on a set piece and headed towards the goal after a cross from Julian Gressel. The former Barcelona player is one of the footballers with the most goals (5) in the entire competition, throughout these first days. However, the joy was short-lived because at 33, Adrián Martínez escaped into the area and scored a cross against Drake Callender to signify equality.
One of the highlights of the day was the debut of Argentine full-back Marcelo Weigandt. El Chelo, who was presented in the last few hours as a signing, arrived from Boca Juniors to play the rest of the 2024 season in the MLS and had his debut as a starter. He was the only Albiceleste representative from minute zero, since his compatriots Franco Negri and Tomás Avilés (he entered the complement) were on the substitute bench.
It must be taken into account that Messi is still absent due to an injury, although he is expected to reappear in the coming days. “He is working with the physios, he is ruled out for tomorrow. He will not be available because we will try our best to ensure that he is here at home next Wednesday with Monterrey. Yes, it is a possibility that he plays there, we are working for that, he is working for that with the medical team,” Javier Morales, Gerardo Martino’s assistant in Las Garzas, had warned in the last few hours.
Messi has so far accumulated 16 days of inactivity, since he had been replaced on March 14 during the Concachampions rematch against Nashville due to a strain in his right hamstring. He was absent from the Argentine national team’s two friendlies, but he also played two away games in Las Garzas before this day’s game against New York FC: DC United (3-1 away win) and New York Red Bulls (loss 4-0 also away from home).
To this we must add another significant loss for Tata Martino: Federico Redondo suffered a rupture of the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee after his participation in the friendly tour of the Under 23 National Team through Mexico. The 21-year-old midfielder will be out for the next two months at least.
On Wednesday, April 3, starting at 9 p.m. in Argentina, they will host Monterrey from Mexico for the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions League. Then they will host the Colorado Rapids in the MLS (next Saturday, April 6, starting at 8:30 p.m.) and must immediately travel to Mexico to play the return leg against Monterrey on Wednesday, April 10, starting at 11:30 p.m.
Martino’s team is currently second in its conference with 11 points, one unit behind leader Cincinnati (12), but also with one more game. In any case, the first seven from each zone will advance to the playoff phase and the eighth will face the ninth in the playoffs.
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