Messi’s return didn’t prevent another instance of Miami losing its composure against Los Rayados
Inter Miami’s dreams of worldwide glory will have to wait another year.
Lionel Messi’s return was not enough for Miami, who boiled over en route to a 3-1 second-leg defeat in its Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal against Monterrey.
Just like in the first leg, the Herons finished with 10 men — Jordi Alba was sent off after the damage was already done — and Los Rayados would end up strolling to a 5-2 aggregate win thanks to goals from Brandon Vazquez, Germán Berterame, and Jesús Gallardo.
Coming off of a 2-1 Monterrey win at Chase Stadium, Miami and Monterrey settled into an unsurprising pattern: the slower but technically gifted visitors looking to use possession to unlock the hosts’ defense, while Los Rayados emphasized counter-attacking play from a mid-block.
“I think that the players understood where the game was going,” Monterrey manager Fernando Ortiz told reporters after the game, explaining his use of a 4-4-2 diamond in defensive phases. “We knew that they were going to dominate the game with the ball, and we wanted them to feel desperate, close the spaces, so that they couldn’t find the internal [passes] that has damaged so many rivals.”
Miami may have been trying to replicate what the Columbus Crew had done on Tuesday in knocking off Tigres, but the Herons could only end up copying the wrong aspects of that performance.
Drake Callender — as Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte did the night before — got it all wrong with the ball at his feet, gifting possession to the opponent’s most dangerous goalscorer.
For Monterrey, that’s Vazquez, and the U.S. men’s national team prospect quickly punished the mistake to give Monterrey a two-goal aggregate edge.
Beyond the goal, an otherwise plodding first half offered two talking points: the dreadful pitch conditions at Estadio BBVA, and Luis Suárez wrenching Víctor Guzmán’s arm to a painful angle.
The former slowed possession for both teams down to a crawl in certain areas, with divots popping up all over the field. The latter was not spotted by the officiating crew, and somehow evaded a VAR check, much less an actual punishment.
That might have been more of a flashpoint when Suárez scored shortly thereafter thanks to a flick from Messi, but the Uruguay star was correctly called offside.
In the end, Miami probably needed the lucky break that would have been an illegitimate goal. Monterrey came out of the locker room and thoroughly dominated the start of the second half. After a slew of chances, the Liga MX powers finally found a critical second on the night via a blistering strike from Berterame.
“I believe that what got us out of the game is the second goal, 15 minutes into the second half,” admitted Miami boss Gerardo “Tata” Martino. “I think at that time, we lost our way, we were [already] eliminated.”
Miami was adrift, and another giveaway at the back ended the already remote hopes of a late comeback.
This time, Diego Gómez’s attempt to switch fields was instead slammed directly into Gallardo, who just kept his run going to head home Berterame’s lob into the box.
With advancement out of reach in an acrimonious match, things only went downhill from there for Miami. Jordi Alba picked up two yellow cards in four minutes, exploding at referee Iván Barton as the Salvadoran issued the second in the 78th minute.
Before the match veered into truly embarrassing territory, Messi managed to help save some dignity for the Herons. The Argentine, booed throughout by Monterrey fans, found Gómez with an inch-perfect dead ball delivery, allowing the Paraguay midfielder to nod in a consolation goal in the 86th minute.
Still, the whole experience was chastening for Miami, who didn’t have the legs or mental strength to compete with the best of Concacaf over two legs.
“We knew Monterey is a very good team, and obviously a tough opponent. They played really well, and we made some mistakes that cost us,” said Julian Gressel in an interview with FS1 after the match. “Hopefully we’ll learn from it, and we can move on into the next competition and do well.”
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