If not Messi no party at Inter Miami. The world champion missed his fourth straight game through injury and his side were overwhelmed 4-1 in their league visit to Chicago Fire in a Soldier Field stadium filled with 62,124 spectators.
Messi did not travel to Chicago while waiting to complete his recovery process due to a muscle problem suffered on September 20. They have been out of the Cup final, losing against Houston Dynamo, and this fall Inter Miami fell to penultimate place in the MLS East, with 33 points, five of the playoff spots with just three days left.
The team led by Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino had one less game than New York City and Montreal, but the chances of a comeback were significantly reduced in Chicago, where the Fire exposed his defensive limitations and scored doubles from Swiss Maren Haile Selassie and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Miami’s schedule includes a home duel against Cincinnati, the best team in MLS and already the winner of the ‘Supporters’ Shield’, and a double crossing with Charlotte, a team also fighting for a place in the postseason. One of the two events will be held during the FIFA date, where Inter Miami will be without twelve players, including, in all likelihood, Messi.
The Fire, a team that up to this point has experienced a season marked by more failure than joy, has taken a big step towards the playoffs and is now eighth, with 40 points.
Record audiences in Chicago
For the first time in their history, the Fire recorded a full house at Soldier Field for an MLS game. The Windy City franchise averages 14,000 spectators per game, but the dream of seeing Messi has convinced locals to shell out more than $170 per ticket to attend the game.
Also for this reason, on Tuesday, when the idea spread that Messi would not play, the Fire published a statement in which they announced that they will reward attendees with a credit of $250 to purchase an annual season ticket for next season .
And this Wednesday, hours before the start of the game, which is scheduled for 7:30 pm local time, hundreds of pink Inter Miami t-shirts with Messi’s name can be seen at Soldier Field. There was no prize, as the Argentine did not travel with the team to Chicago and stayed in Miami to manage his energy and continue his recovery process.
Neither was Jordi Alba for ‘Tata’ Martino’s team, who had to thank his goalkeeper, Drake Callender, for a great save from German Fabian Herbers, and the post, which deflected a shot from to the Greek Koutsias, if he avoids yielding to the thrust. of fire
It’s only one hour. Because Inter Miami’s defense often struggled to contain rival attacks and, without dynamite up front, that weakness took its toll.
Of course, after Shaqiri put the Fire ahead in the 49th minute and Josef Martínez equalized from the penalty spot, Inter Miami had two minutes that could change the history of the match. Facundo Farías and Cremaschi had some great assists from Martínez and that ended their club’s options.
Haile Selassie, who had just entered the field, scored a double in four minutes (m.62 and m.66), and Shaqiri, on the counterattack, walked in front of the Miami defense and hit the goalkeeper with the lower left foot.
Soldier Field emptied in the final minutes and scores of Inter Miami pink shirts were seen leaving the coliseum, disappointed with the loss that put the club’s chances of extending the season beyond the regular season in serious doubt.
DATA SHEET
4 – Fire: Brady; Dean, Omsberg, Czichos, Navarro; Giménez, Doumbia; Shaqiri, Gutiérrez (Haile Selassie, m.55), Herbers (Terán, m.84); Koutsias
Coach: Frank Klopas
1 – Inter Miami: Callender; Allen, Miller, Kryvtsov, Yedlin; Arroyo (Mota, m.67), Busquets, Cremaschi; Farías, Martínez and Taylor (Stefanelli, m.67)
Coach: Gerardo Martino
The objectives: 1-0, Shaqiri (m. 49); 1-1, Martínez, from a penalty (m. 53); 2-1, Haile-Selassie (m. 62); 3-1, Haile-Selassie (m. 66); 4-1, Shaqiri (m. 74)
Referee: Joseph Dickerson (USA). He showed yellow cards to Dean (m.52), from Fire, and Sergio Busquets (m.42), from Inter Miami
Incidents: Match matching thirty-two days of MLS played at Soldier Field stadium in Chicago before 62,124 spectators, the highest number in Fire history
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
