Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF are facing elimination after a surprising 2-1 loss to Atlanta United FC last Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
After a historic season in which it led the Eastern Conference table with 74 points on its way to being crowned MLS Supporters’ Shield champions, Inter Miami is suddenly just one loss away from seeing its year end at the hands of a team that many thought wouldn’t be a tough first-round opponent.
But Atlanta United battled back to tie the best-of-three series at 1-1, following a 2-1 Miami victory in the opener. And now, Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale will be the site of the tense finale Saturday night. Inter Miami fought all season to have home-field advantage, though. And as the hosts, the Herons are favored to win by 1.5 goals and are still expected to advance to the second round.
If the fans are nervous leading up to the game, perhaps listening to Gerardo “Tata” Martino will calm their fears. After all, Inter Miami’s coach expressed his satisfaction as his team began preparations for the finale.
“There is a lot of hierarchy in the team that have gone through more difficult situations than this and we have a way of playing that we have never changed, so there is no need to make changes,” he said. “We would like this to be over, that’s why we haven’t done anything different than the first game. The players who were here were the ones who played. The reality is that I am very satisfied with what they did beyond the fact that we are very frustrated with the [Game 2] result. We must try to do the same in the third match.”
Game 2 featured an unexpected result, especially considering the statistics. Inter Miami, in fact, had the most possession of the ball, 58.5%, showing how the club controlled the game. And Martino felt that, all along, Inter Miami never lost control of the match, but ultimately, it missed its usual effectiveness.
“I think we deserved to win the game, even in the last 10 minutes, we decided to go for the goal with four attackers and we were not able to score the goal,” he said after the loss. “I understand that Atlanta — with less arrivals, less approaches, and less control of the game — ended up winning at the end. We were optimistic.
“It seems like a joke that it was just one goal we scored, when we generated so much. But today, I think Atlanta was more effective than us.”
Conversely, Atlanta Coach Rob Valentino was happy with his team’s performance.
“We were intentional about how we did the week in terms of breaking down the video of the mistakes we made the last game. Fatigue was a big factor, so rest helps but it’s not the only thing, so we looked at the patterns of play of what they do especially with the big guys,” he said. “I think especially in the first half, we were sloppy. But to look at it right now, like just you had to win the game, so anything you must do to win the game. We talk about, obviously, tactics are important, and all the things, but ultimately, at the end, is having that belief and playing with intensity.”
Inter Miami registered their first and only goal in the 40th minute through defender David Martinez. Then, Atlanta defender Derrick Williams tied Inter Miami in the 58th minute, before midfielder Xande Silva scored the winning goal for Atlanta in the fourth minute of extra time.
With the regular season included, Inter Miami has played Atlanta United four times this season, winning just once, the series opener at the Chase Stadium. Atlanta defeated Miami, 3-1, in May, and posted a 2-2 tie in September, before this last encounter, a shocking upset in front of a crowd of 68,455 fans in downtown Atlanta.
But Martino’s optimism is unfazed.
“There was no reason, at any time, to think that the rival outplayed us [in Game 2]. In [Game 1], in the last 15 minutes of the first half, the rival controlled the ball better,” he said of Atlanta. “But [in Game 2]. I felt that very little.”
In the opener, Inter Miami did the expected, posted the victory, and had the numbers to prove it. Martino’s club, in fact, held possession for 65.6% of the game, compared to Atlanta’s 34.4%. Miami started the opener on the front foot, finding an early goal through forward Luis Suarez in the second minute of the game. Midfielder Diego Gomez and defender Jordi Alba combined on the left and made a great setup for Suarez to strike with a right-foot finish shot to open the scoring. The goal was Suarez’s 21st this MLS season, which leads the team, and is one more than Messi. The second goal — and Miami’s game winner — was authored by Alba in the 60th minute.
Martino’s club will need that kind of magic on Saturday night at 8 p.m., and all eyes will be on Messi, who is goal-less in this series. But a chance to compete for the MLS Cup, and to keep writing history is still out there for him, and his club does have the luxury of playing on its home turf.
The winner of this series will advance to play either Orlando City SC or Charlotte FC in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
