On the morning of November 3, Messi and Inter Miami lost 1-2 to Atlanta United in the second match of a “three-match” series in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, meaning they will have to play a third match on November 10 to compete for a spot to advance.
In the third match of the “three-match” series in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, Messi and his teammates have the advantage of playing at home at Chase Field, hoping to correct the mistakes they made during the recent encounter with Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Messi played hard but couldn’t help Inter Miami make a difference.
With a 2-1 victory in the first match on October 26, Inter Miami started with their strongest lineup, hoping to continue their winning streak to advance quickly. However, David Beckham’s team faced strong resistance from Atlanta United, backed by the enthusiastic support of over 70,000 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Messi and his teammates also struggled with the artificial turf, forcing them to play cautiously.
With veteran midfielder Busquets absent due to illness, coach Tata Martino had to field a four-man midfield including Jordi Alba, Yannick Bright, Federico Redondo, and Marcelo Weigandt, while the attacking front was led by Messi along with Suarez and Diego Gomez. Inter Miami played with a mindset to maintain a solid game before looking for opportunities to turn the match around.
At the end of the first half, Inter Miami got lucky thanks to a costly mistake by veteran goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who lost the ball outside the box, allowing defender David Martinez to score and open the scoring at 1-0.
Messi had few opportunities to score in the rematch against Atlanta United.
Leading 1-0, Inter Miami could not hold on to their advantage. Early in the second half, Derrick Williams helped Atlanta United equalize at 1-1 in the 58th minute.
After conceding the goal, Messi and his teammates played more energetically, putting pressure on Atlanta United’s defense. However, on a day when both Messi and Suarez were less inspired, they could not make any significant impact to change the game. The artificial turf clearly posed a major challenge, preventing the two stars from playing sharply.
In stoppage time, when it seemed the match would be decided by a penalty shootout, Atlanta United unexpectedly scored again, taking the lead 2-1 in the 90+4 minute thanks to a goal from Xande Silva, winning the match overall.
Suarez also had a subdued performance in Inter Miami’s loss.
This result leveled the series after two matches, meaning Inter Miami and Atlanta United will face off in a decisive third match at 8 PM on November 10 at Chase Field to determine which team will advance.
This is disappointing news for Messi, who had hoped for his team to secure early victories to move on. The necessity of playing a third match could affect Messi’s ability to return to the Argentine national team for World Cup 2026 qualifying matches on November 15 and 20.
