Not even a goal from Lionel Messi could have prevented Inter Miami from falling victim to an avalanche of goals from Atlanta United as the best team in MLS fell on Wednesday night.
A double by winger Saba Lobzhandize opened the scoring with the score 2-0 for the Five Stripes who played as visitors in Fort Lauderdale.
There was brief hope when the Argentine World Cup winner scored a goal in the 62nd minute to bring The Herons within one.
But eleven minutes later, Atlanta’s Jamal Thiare timed his run perfectly to receive a low cross and got his foot in on the end to send it past goalkeeper Drake Callender.
This is the team’s first loss in MLS since losing 4-0 on the road to the New York Red Bulls on March 23.
Atlanta United ended Inter Miami’s unbeaten streak with a 3-1 victory in Fort Lauderdale
Lionel Messi scored, but failed to score enough goals to emerge victorious
It is the first time Lionel Messi has lost a match in which he scored since the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when he converted a penalty, but Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in Qatar.
Inter Miami have not had a good midweek performance in all competitions, winning just one of their six games so far this season.
Atlanta United was 0-5-4 in MLS since beating Chicago 3-0 on March 31. But they never trailed on Wednesday, with Lobjanidze scoring late in the first half to put his team ahead and adding a second in the 59th minute.
After Messi’s goal, Atlanta United kept all 10 of its outfield players on the defensive end every time the hosts had deep possession in the final 30 minutes.
Messi scored his 11th goal of the MLS season, tying Luis Suárez for the team lead. Inter Miami (10-3-4, 34 points) maintained a one-point lead atop the Eastern Conference and overall MLS standings over Cincinnati (10-3-3, 33 points). Cincinnati lost to Nashville on Wednesday night, missing out on a chance to clinch the top spot.
Inter Miami entered Wednesday with a 7-0-3 record in its last 10 MLS games. It is now 10-0-4 when two or fewer goals are allowed in MLS this season, and 0-3-0 when three or more goals are allowed.
With 34 points in exactly half of the MLS schedule, matching their total for the entire 2023 season, when Messi joined midway and helped the team win the Leagues Cup but failed to reach the playoffs, Inter Miami is on pace for 68 points this season.
Mathematically, yes, that is correct. Realistically, well, probably not that much.
Jamal Thiare got his boot on the end of a low cross to score Atlanta United’s third goal.
MLS games may be missed when Inter Miami plays at Philadelphia (June 15), Columbus (June 19), Nashville (June 29), Charlotte (July 3) and Cincinnati (June 6). July). After the Copa América final, Miami also has home games against Toronto (July 17) and Chicago (July 20).
Unlike most leagues, MLS schedules matches during some FIFA match periods, when the release of players to national teams is mandatory.
And after the Cup, it seems likely that Inter Miami will lose some players again when the national teams call for the Paris Olympics.
Messi had a few chances early, including a diving header four minutes into the match after a shot in the center of the box by Jordi Alba.
The plan, for now, calls for Messi to play at least a few minutes when Inter Miami hosts St. Louis on Saturday. After that, Messi will swap Inter Miami’s pink kit for Argentina’s blue, playing for the country rather than the club for a while.
The Copa América, the 16-team tournament from June 20 to July 14, looms, with Messi set to play for defending champion Argentina and Suarez potentially playing for Uruguay.
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a goal against Atlanta United in the second half
Messi, avoiding any contact, sent the ball to the grass and the carom spun over the crossbar; He gave Alba the thumbs up for the idea as he stood up from the grass with a smile.
And in the 21st minute, Messi sent a shot towards the left post, just above Robert Taylor, who would have had plenty of space to aim if he had been able to try to head it.
His goal in the 63rd minute was a typical Messi masterpiece, passing a ball between two defenders and just inside the right post, just out of reach of an Atlanta goalkeeper, Josh Cohen.
