Lionel Messi and Inter Miami eliminated from MLS Cup play-offs in first round

FORT LAUDERDALE – Lionel Messi’s goal of winning the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup came to an abrupt end on Nov 9, with his Inter Miami side suffering a shock first-round elimination from the play-offs after a 3-2 home defeat by Atlanta United.

Miami had won the regular season campaign with a record points total but after losing twice in the best-of-three series, the MLS Cup favourites and their eight-time Ballon d’Or winner are out.

All the accolades Miami received for their regular season Supporters’ Shield triumph count for little after an Atlanta team who finished ninth in the Eastern Conference pulled off a stunning upset.

For Miami coach Gerardo Martino, who won the MLS Cup with Atlanta in 2018, an inquest is sure to follow but he tried to put a brave face on the loss.

“This season has had good and bad things,” he said. “If you think about where we were in November last year, there has obviously been progress in terms of the club, not just the team. If you think about the expectations we had for this play-offs, obviously we came up a little short.”

Inter took the lead in the 17th minute when Messi was denied by a diving save from Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan but Matias Rojas followed in to slot home the loose ball.

Just two minutes later, the visitors, who secured a wildcard spot only on the final day of the season, levelled when a deflected pass from Dax McCarty fell to Jamal Thiare, who confidently fired home with a sweet strike.

Miami were stunned when Thiare struck again moments later. The 37-year-old McCarty lifted the ball forward to Russian Aleksei Miranchuk, who slipped the ball inside to Thiare, and the Senegalese striker blasted home to make it 2-1.

Messi finally broke through in the 65th minute, meeting a Marcelo Weigandt cross from the right with a thundering header.

Miami pushed forward in search of the winner but instead they were caught out once again, with Pedro Amador’s cross from the left headed home at the back post by Polish midfielder Bartosz Slisz.

The final whistle brought a deflated silence over Chase Stadium as Miami’s season, which so many had expected would end with their first MLS Cup title, concluded with the sight of Guzan and his Atlanta teammates celebrating.

“The players are sad, as they should be when there are so many expectations and the team can’t fulfil them,” said Martino. “In this final part of the year, we got used to achieving the objectives but we couldn’t achieve the most important one.”

Atlanta will now face Orlando in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, with New York Red Bulls and New York City clashing in the other conference semi. AFP