Lionel Messi was not in the game in the first leg of the Concachampions quarterfinals where ‘Las Garzas’ of Inter Miami faced the Rayados de Monterrey and were defeated 1 goal by 2, in a quite competitive match where the absence of the Argentine star weighed heavily and was a big difference for the performance of the pink team of the United States.
Messi was not in the game due to the decision of the coaching staff led by Argentine Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino since they preferred to preserve it due to the fact that the former Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain Football Club player is in the final phase of his recovery from the muscle injury suffered in his right leg, which has been afflicting him for some time.
But despite Inter Miami’s defeat, the captain of the Argentina national team He did not hesitate for a single second to support his teammates as much as he could from a railing, with notable displays of tension and the desire to put on uniform, jump onto the playing field and help reverse the actions of the first leg of the quarterfinals. of the Concachampions final.
The confirmation of Messi’s withdrawal for said confrontation was announced minutes before the arrival of the bus that took the ‘Las Garzas’ team to the Chase Stadium facilities, home of the pink and black club. Messi entered the venue completely alone through a door where there were no fans near him and was accompanied by his bodyguard Yassine Cheuko. Dressed in a white shirt, the forward stood in one of the boxes accompanied by his assistant Pepe Costa.
Messi quite close to the fans
In what was before and after the confrontation, the Argentine greeted the fans They shouted at him and asked him for a greeting and he could even be seen shaking hands, smiling and with a group of children who came to life in the stadium to watch the game.
Messi was calm for most of the match, but there were moments where you could see who was tense and anxious about the development of the match where Inter Miami finally ended up losing. At the time of the 1-0 by the ‘Las Garzas’ team led by Toto Avíles, Messi remained calm, but at the time of the tie by Maxi Meza for the Rayados de Monterrey he was much more effusive and even worried .
Monterrey gave the final blow
At the time of the 2-1 in the epilogue, the same would come from another Argentine playerCorcho Rodríguez who knew how to take advantage of a failure in the start of Inter Miami and was able to make a powerful and explosive shot with his right foot that surpassed the stretch of Miami goalkeeper, Drake Callender.
At that precise moment was when the captain of Miami and Argentina was jumping onto the field of the game as he was dressed to help turn the game around; In fact, Messi showed a sign of desperation by standing against a railing, turning and looking towards the audience, perhaps not wanting to see what was happening on the playing field where his team was watching lose a key match for this year.
Upcoming commitments for Inter Miami
‘Las Garzas’ will be back next Wednesday, April 10, in Monterreywhere they will have the quite complicated task of coming back from the match in the second leg of the Concachampions quarterfinals.
Before, on Saturday, they will have to face Colorado and in Florida, the pink team will try return to victory for the MLS, hoping that the Argentine player can be part of the game as long as he has recovered 100% from his muscle injury.
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