Lionel Messi remained sidelined with a hamstring damage on Wednesday evening as his Inter Miami group took a one-goal lead in opposition to Mexico’s Monterrey however then faltered within the second half, finally dropping 2-1 within the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal.
Messi, who missed his fourth consecutive recreation attributable to a proper hamstring damage, has been out of motion since March 13. He additionally missed Argentina’s friendlies final month in opposition to El Salvador and Costa Rica.
There is at present no clear timeline for the 36-year-old Messi’s return. Inter Miami and Monterrey are set to play the second leg of the quarterfinal in Mexico on April 10. Inter Miami may even face Colorado in an MLS match on Saturday.
“Every day he’s feeling better. It would have been too much of a risk today,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino stated by way of an interpreter after the match. He added that Messi will proceed to be assessed on a game-by-game foundation.
Monterrey’s Jorge Rodriguez broke a 1-1 tie within the 89th minute Wednesday when he despatched a shot into the highest proper nook previous goalkeeper Drake Callender after a sloppy move by Miami’s Diego Gomez, spoiling a robust first half from Inter Miami in its hardest match of the season.
Tomas Aviles tapped in Miami’s solely objective off a nook kick by Julian Gressel within the nineteenth minute. It was the 19-year-old Avilés’ first objective of the season and got here throughout a stout first-half defensive effort that held Monterrey at bay.
But Inter Miami got here unraveled after David Ruiz obtained a second yellow card and was despatched off for pointless contact within the sixty fifth minute. Miami performed the ultimate 25 minutes of the match down a person.
Monterrey rapidly took benefit, tying the rating lower than 5 minutes afterward a objective from Maximiliano Meza, who shot previous Callender on a second try after a nook kick by Sergio Canales.
“The first thing is that we didn’t have enough legs to do the last 20 minutes,” Martino said. “And taking part in in opposition to a group like Monterrey, it’s important to be in excellent bodily form. … It appeared that we have been going to have moments within the recreation through which we’d be dominated, we didn’t endure it as a lot as I assumed, however when it’s important to do the final 20 minutes with one participant brief, that grew to become an issue.”
Callender had seven saves, whereas Monterrey’s Esteban Andrada had one.
Miami’s Robert Taylor left with an damage after taking place and grabbing his leg in ache within the thirty sixth minute.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
