With Jordi Alba's screamer, Inter Miami wins the MLS playoffs.
Lionel Messi often had scoring opportunities but was consistently turned away. He only had to make the correct pass at the right moment, it turned out. Inter Miami defeated Atlanta United 2-1 on Friday night in the first game of a best-of-three first-round Major League Soccer playoff series. Jordi Alba scored the game-winning goal in the 60th minute after an assist from Messi, and Luis Suarez also scored.
The Supporters' Shield champions and top seed in the MLS Cup playoffs, who established a league record with 74 points in the regular season and are 34 points clear of wild-card Atlanta in the rankings, did not have an easy start. Atlanta scored with a goal by Saba Lobjanidze, and goalie Brad Guzan made eight saves. Game 2 will take place on November 2 in Atlanta, which will be Inter Miami's final road game of the season anyway. If needed, Game 3 will take place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 9. "It's going to be difficult for us," Gerardo "Tata" Martino, the coach of Inter Miami, stated. "It's going to be difficult as this rival has been throughout the season."
Messi's MLS playoff debut and Inter Miami's first-ever home playoff game were both sold out, since Messi games are virtually usually sold out worldwide. MLS even placed a camera on Messi during the game and streamed the footage on TikTok. Although the original plan to broadcast the event live on a huge screen in Times Square, New York, was canceled, Apple will still arrange to watch another match there. With Messi in the starting lineup, Atlanta was the only side to defeat Inter Miami this season, and it seemed as though the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and MLS MVP finalist understood the match would not be simple.
Messi stated, "It gets settled on the field," in an interview that was recorded before to the playoffs and that Major League Soccer hinted would be available on its Season Pass platform. "Anything can happen in a match." And these teams were tied for sixty minutes, according to the scoreboard. Messi had three excellent chances later in the half, and Suarez scored just one minute into the game.
After six minutes, Messi's left foot almost put the score at two; Guzan had to stretch to his right to almost miss the attempt. In the 26th minute, Messi got some room and tried again, but Guzan's strike went over the crossbar. Furthermore, the post, not Guzan, denied Messi in the 29th minute. Marcelo Weigandt of Inter Miami grabbed the rebound, but Guzan blocked his attempt. It may have been 2-0, 3-0, or even 4-0 at that moment if Guzan hadn't been there.
We Are Frustrated Martino Said.
Messi's 25-yard direct kick in the 52nd minute almost put Inter Miami ahead again, but it curled just past of the post to Guzan's left. About eight minutes later, Messi was hoisted into the air by Alba in celebration of the score, marking the breakthrough. "We've got to keep our heads up, and we've got to go again," Guzan stated. "For a while now, we've been in a difficult situation. And we've managed to find a way even when we've been in a difficult situation. We now have our backs to the wall. It is imperative that we enter Game 2 and win.
Late in the evening, everything went south for Inter Miami. South Florida native Ian Fray, who has previously had three ACL tears, departed the game in the ninetieth minute due to a noncontact injury that prevented him from bearing any weight on his right leg. The extent of Fray's damage was not immediately known. "It was a very good game ... but we're not feeling as satisfied as we could because of Ian," Martino stated. We're all feeling a little down. We'll wait to find out what has injured him.
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