Messi, Miami end MLS season with loss to playoff-bound Charlotte
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Lionel Messi started for Inter Miami in his team's MLS season finale against Charlotte on Saturday night.
Messi captained the squad on the last day of the regular season, but the match was largely meaningless for Miami, which failed to make the playoffs. Charlotte, meanwhile, qualified for the postseason with a 1-0 victory over Messi's side.
Charlotte wasted a pair of one-goal leads and tied Miami 2-2 on Wednesday, missing out on a chance to move from 12th to 8th place in the Eastern Conference, but made amends on Saturday to finish ninth, two points ahead of Montreal. The top nine teams in each conference make the playoffs.
Messi did not play in Wednesday’s game — Miami’s last home game of the MLS season — after scoring both goals for Argentina in its 2-0 World Cup qualifying win at Peru on Tuesday night. He was in the Inter Miami bench area with his teammates for the match after returning from Peru earlier in the day.
Messi told reporters in Peru that he wanted to play once more for Inter Miami before his inaugural MLS season ends, and that meant playing in Charlotte even though the match was played on artificial turf.
Messi, a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s top player, is also expected to play in Inter Miami’s colors on Nov. 5 and Nov. 8, when the team plays two exhibition matches in China. It’ll be the first time Inter Miami goes on a foreign tour. Argentina then has more World Cup qualifiers on Nov. 16 and Nov. 21 — after which Messi should get an extended break before Inter Miami begins preparing for 2024.
Messi has 11 goals in all competitions with Inter Miami this season. He led the team to its first-ever trophy by claiming the Leagues Cup championship shortly after his arrival in the summer. He appeared in six MLS games, starting four times and scoring one goal. He also played in one U.S. Open Cup semifinal.
But a leg injury derailed his season, and essentially ended Inter Miami’s chances of making the postseason. Miami went 1-3-3 in seven matches without Messi since he joined the club. He was able to play as a reserve on Oct. 7 against Cincinnati, but Inter Miami lost 1-0 in the outcome that sealed its playoff elimination.
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