As his Inter Miami teammates nearly suffered a historic defeat to Jamaican Premier League champions Cavalier FC on Thursday night, Lionel Messi sat in a luxurious on-field suite.
In the Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16, Cavalier FC, having won two of the last four Jamaican league titles, and Inter Miami, the current MLS Supporters’ Shield champions, appeared to be a formidable matchup. However, MLS team FC Cincinnati outscored Cavalier FC 6-0 during the tournament last year.
In the first half, Cavalier had multiple scoring opportunities, including celebrating a goal that was eventually disallowed following a lengthy VAR review shortly before halftime. Prior to Inter Miami’s emergence in the second half, it was challenging to discern which team was the champion and which was the underdog.
After the first leg of their Champions Cup clash at Chase Stadium, Inter Miami leads Cavalier FC 2-0 overall with to goals from Tadeo Allende in the 61st minute and Luis Suarez in the 83rd.
“Fire is what we’re playing with. ” And it’s very possible that you’ll get burned when you play with fire,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano stated following the game. We were lucky in that game since they couldn’t finish off in the best manner the three or four times they had the advantage. And I believe we performed better in the second half.
Cavalier FC played admirably throughout at least the first eighty-three minutes of the game. Cavalier now has to hope for a huge upset in the second leg on March 13 at National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, which is already expected to sell out with 35,000 spectators.
Will Messi participate in that game? The question is understandable given that the Argentine World Cup champion began the MLS season with a second night off.
After a match full of hardship, Messi is rested, healthy, and undamaged, but he is coping with exhaustion and is being evaluated on a daily basis, Mascherano stated.
Inter Miami hosts Charlotte FC in an MLS regular-season game on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET before the second leg in Jamaica. Messi will have two more opportunities this week to either suit up or rest.
According to the physicians, he is not injured. Having played three games in six days, he is exhausted,” Mascherano remarked of Messi.
Messi hasn’t played since Inter Miami defeated Sporting Kansas City in the Champions Cup first round on February 25. He skipped last Sunday’s game against the Dynamo in Houston, which Inter Miami won 4-1.
When you consider five preseason games played in Las Vegas, Peru, Panama, Honduras, and Tampa Bay, Florida, Messi primarily participated in eight games over 40 days from January 18 to February 14 and three games over six days from February 19 to 26.
However, as Cavalier pressured Inter Miami with speed on all sides of the pitch, Messi’s presence was obviously missed.
After the first half, Cavalier had a 3-1 shooting edge, which Inter Miami turned into a 12-5 advantage by the end of the game.
Shaquille Stein, a forward for the Cavaliers, looked to have scored off a corner kick shortly before halftime. Stein and his teammates hugged their coaches and fellow players on the bench after celebrating all the way down the pitch. After a protracted VAR check, the goal was overruled due to an offside ruling, ending the roughly five-minute celebration.
Rudolph Speid, the coach and sporting director of the Cavaliers, stated that “just a million less, one would’ve made that call” if a million referees were deciding the goal.
Although he wasn’t involved in the action, Speid stated, “It appeared that there was a player in a position that could be offside.” “I believed the objective ought to have stood.”
After a cross from the opposite side of the pitch, Cavalier striker Jalmaro Calvin missed a soaring attempt in the 28th minute as his left boot brushed the outside of the right post. Calvin came close to scoring in the 33rd minute when his kick almost slipped past goalie Oscar Ustari after being deflected by Inter Miami defender David Martinez.
Inter Miami was celebrating at the end of the evening.
With an average player age of 20.2 years, Cavalier will concentrate on defeating Inter Miami in the second leg in Jamaica the following week.
Regarding his side, Speid stated, “We’ll let them grieve and feel down for a while—it usually helps.” We’ll give them the day off and then continue as usual. Even if they are by themselves, I can guarantee that they will be motivated for the second leg.