Inter Miami faced its toughest test of the year without star player Lionel Messi on Wednesday night, ultimately falling 2-1 to Mexican powerhouse Monterrey in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal at Chase Stadium. Despite looking the better team for much of the match, Miami paid the price for going down a man in the 65th minute, conceding two late goals to the visitors.
Messi, who has been dealing with a right hamstring issue for nearly a month, watched from the sidelines as his teammates battled against a strong Monterrey side. The Argentine star's absence was a major talking point leading up to the game, with Mexican T.V. and radio announcers providing live coverage all day in anticipation of the highly publicized matchup.
Miami took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when center back Tomas Aviles right-footed a shot to the roof of the goal off a corner kick from Julian Gessel. The men in pink pressed the Monterrey midfield for the remainder of the half and looked in control heading into the break.
However, the tide turned in the 65th minute when Miami midfielder David Ruiz was ejected after receiving a second yellow card for an ill-advised foul. Maximiliano Meza equalized for Monterrey just four minutes later, and Jorge Rodriguez scored the game-winner in the 89th minute after intercepting a sloppy pass from Miami midfielder Diego Gomez just outside the box.
When Monterrey scored its second goal, fans chanted: "Messi Tuvo Miedo!" (Messi Was Scared!), a clear jab at the absent superstar. A sizable contingent of fans in blue and white striped jerseys were on hand to root on Los Rayados (The Striped Ones).
After the game, Inter Miami head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino addressed Messi's absence, stating, "We had said Leo will be day to day, and he was not ready to play today, it would have been too much of a risk. He is feeling better each day, and we will re-evaluate for the Colorado game (on Saturday) and the return leg against Monterrey next week (Wednesday)."
The teams are set to meet again in Monterrey on April 10 for the second leg of the series, which will be decided by aggregate score. If the teams are tied after the two games, the tiebreaker will be away goals. The winner of this round will advance to the semifinal and face the winner of the Columbus Crew vs. Tigres (Mexico) matchup.
Despite the loss, Martino saw positives in his team's performance. "I thought for 70 minutes we did well," he said. "I thought we could have scored a second goal in the first half. When you are playing a quality opponent where when (Hector) Moreno comes out he is replaced by a player from the Chilean national team, and Mexican national team players are coming off the bench, you have to be very aware, very solid and not commit errors."
Monterrey head coach Fernando "Tano" Ortiz praised his team's resilience, saying, "We faced a great opponent, a team that did a very good job in the first 90 minutes. I am fortunate to have players on the roster who are high-quality and knew what they had to do after the expulsion (of Ruiz)."
Ortiz also commented on Messi's absence, stating, "We were hoping he would play; I have said and will say again he is the best player in the world of all time. He couldn't be here. Hopefully, he will be there for the return leg and we can enjoy him, and do what we have to do to advance to the next round."
