Miami, US, Mar 11 (EFE).- Inter Miami suffered a 2-3 defeat against Montreal in Major League Soccer on Sunday, playing without talismanic Lionel Messi and starting with Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets on the bench.
Miami coach Gerardo Martino made several changes to the starting lineup with his mind set on Wednesday’s decisive match for the Concacaf Champions Cup against Nashville, which remained tied 2-2 after the first leg.
Messi watched the match from the VIP box with his family, with little to enjoy as Colombian Fernando Alvarez, Uruguayan Matias Coccaro and Nigerian Ibrahim converted goals for the Canadians.
Ecuadorian Leo Campana scored for Miami between Montreal’s first two goals, and Spanish Jordi Alba pulled one back for the hosts, with Busquets coming off the bench to provide his first assist of the year.
Alba’s first goal in 2024, with 10 minutes left in the contest, revived hopes for a late comeback that never came, despite nine minutes being added at the end of stipulated time when Miami pressed hard without reward.
“I liked the performance of the team, but I regret the dropped points. It was a match that just developed in a way that led to that result, but I felt we did enough to win the match,” said coach Martino after their first defeat of the season. EFE
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