MIAMI MISSIVE
Lionel Messi injury, ConcaChampions and Leagues Cup draw, DC United clash
Inter Miami have made it through to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League but face a tough task this weekend in their return to MLS action.
It’s been a big week for Inter Miami, perhaps the first big week of 2024. In the past seven days we have seen the two sides - the defensive frailties and the attacking capabilities - of this Herons team, one that remains in the hunt for all three trophies.
Last weekend a Messi-less Miami fell to a disappointing home defeat to CF Montreal, their first loss of the season. Just days later, with the Argentine returned to the team, Messi and Luis Suarez fired Miami through to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
We also know the identities of the teams that Inter Miami will face in both the Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup, with some massive games on the horizon for Tata Martino’s team.
Here’s your Miami Missive for Friday, March 15...
Can Inter Miami win without Lionel Messi?
That question is, in many ways, at the very core of this epoch-defining Inter Miami project. Miami have secured the services of one of the greatest players of all time but their struggles when the Argentine is absent threatens to derail the entire strategy.
After last weekend’s Montreal defeat we published an article looking at Inter Miami’s record with and without Lionel Messi. Suffice to say; they are one of the best teams in the league with him, and one of the worst when he is not there.
That earth-shattering piece of information has been cast into greater significance this week with the news that Messi is struggling with “an overload in his right hamstring,” according to Martino. The Miami boss has ruled him out of Saturday’s trip to DC United and, with two Argentina fixtures at the end of March, Messi may not feature again until April. If he’s unavailable for upcoming fixtures against DC United, NY Red Bulls and New York City, Inter Miami will need to show that they can perform without his inimitable talents.
On Wednesday Messi was able to play for 50 minutes against Nashville, recording a goal and an assist, before being substituted. Speaking after the game his long-term teammate Jordi Alba made clear how important the Argentine is to Miami’s fortunes.
Mexican challenges for Inter Miami
This round of CONCACAF Champions Cup fixtures has not strengthened the US’ hand in the MLS-Liga MX debates. In the three Round of 16 fixtures between teams from the two leagues the Liga MX teams progressed in all of them, each winning by a margin of at least two goals.
The most resounding of those victories was Pachuca’s 6-0 second leg thrashing of Philadelphia Union. After the game long-serving Philadelphia boss Jim Curtin said: “Sometimes you think the gap is shrinking but then tonight, there’s nights that humble you.”
Inter Miami will be looking to bridge that gap in the coming months as they face an all-Mexican fixture list in both the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup. They will take on Monterrey in the CONCACAF competition, while Club Puebla and Tigres UANL are their group stage opponents in this summer’s Leagues Cup. In their seven-game run to the trophy in 2023 they played just one Liga MX side; this year they have the opportunity to go head-to-head against some of the strongest sides in Mexican soccer.
Resurgent DC up next for the Herons
Inter Miami have showed a bit of everything in their first four MLS games of the new season. At times they have been rampant (Orlando City, 5-0) and ruthless (Real Salt Lake, 2-0); but they have also been outplayed (LA Galaxy, 1-1) and underwhelming (Montreal, 2-3). With that it mind it’s difficult to know what to expect from this weekend’s trip to DC, but we’ll try anyway.
The major tactical talking point from the first few games of 2024 has been Inter Miami’s formation shift. In pre-season the Herons predominantly lined up in a 5-3-2 system but, after a string of poor friendly results, they changed to a 4-3-3 for the season opener against RSL. That system lasted for three games before Martino reverted to wing-backs, using the same 5-3-2 formation we saw in preseason. Miami looked more solid with a back-five against Nashville on Wednesday evening and we’re expecting that they will keep the same structure this weekend.
In midfield Sergio Busquets’ lack of physicality is compensated for by the introduction of Federico Redondo and Diego Gomez, two youngsters with bags of potential and a real dynamism in their play. Robert Taylor will likely join Luis Suarez up front, replacing the absent Messi, and Miami will be hoping for a repeat of their midweek performance.
This mercurial Miami side are a stark contrast to Troy Lesesne’s DC United, who are unbeaten after three games. They picked up a 3-1 opening day win over New England Revolution, before securing impressive road draws against Portland Timbers and Cincinnati. The star of their victory over the Revs was DP striker Christian Benteke, who hit a hat-trick but missed the following two games due to injury.
The big Belgian has returned to DC United training ahead of this weekend’s visit of Inter Miami and he will be eager to reiterate his reputation as one of the league’s top forwards. Benteke will pose a real threat for Inter Miami’s porous backline and his physicality will be a new test for young Tomas Aviles.
It looks set to be an engrossing game, and one which you can watch for free on AppleTV+ this weekend! Victory for the Herons would end a promising week on a positive note, but another limp Messi-less performance would cast real doubt on Inter Miami’s MLS Cup credentials.