Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba celebrate after scoring their extra-time equalizer against LA Galaxy (Credit: X)
It was in the 80th minute in Inter Miami’s encounter vs Montreal, when the Barcelona connection inevitably clicked once again and presented Alba with the chance to produce magic.
No Messi, no problem for Jordi Alba. In the absence of talisman Argentine Lionel Messi in the Inter Miami squad, the former Barcelona defender took it upon himself to produce a moment of sheer brilliance with the ball, as he slotted one in for a goal during their match against CF Montreal in the MLS.
Inter Miami, who were coming off two successive victories, opted to rest Messi and, as an unfortunate result, slumped to their first defeat of the Major League Soccer season on Sunday, as they fell 3-2.
After drawing first blood in the 13th minute, Montreal weathered the Miami storm up until the latter half of the game, when Campana headed one home to bring the teams back on level terms.
But, this did not faze the visitors, who went on a quickfire spree, scoring two goals in just three minutes to take a comfortable 3-1 lead.
It was then in the 80th minute, when the Barcelona connection inevitably clicked once again and presented Alba with the chance to produce magic.
Inter Miami, with the aid of skillful passing play, finally found a chance to break through the Montreal ranks. And as rightback Noah Allen’s cross got deflected and flew high, sparking an aerial tussle for the ball, it landed right at Sergio Busquets’ feet, who tipped it off to Alba with a toe tap.
Alba then proceeded to slot the ball onto the top corner of the goal, on the half-volley as it fell, with a perfectly timed finessed finish, much alike in the fashion of his compatriot Lionel Messi.
Despite all the efforts, Inter Miami could not find the elusive equalizer to salvage the encounter and ultimately fell for the first defeat of their MLS season.
Messi was not the only veteran to be rested. Even the likes of Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets started the game on the bench.
Inter Miami coach has been vocal about the need for him to rest his aging veterans, especially Messi, in order to ensure their availability further down the season.
Messi has a string of fixtures coming up for both club and country this upcoming month and hence, Martino emphasised the importance of allowing Messi to take up a more clinical and less tiresome role within the squad to utilise the best out of him and to ensure that the 8-time Ballon D’Or winner does not exhaust himself early on into the season.
“I feel that in these last two matches, he has expended too much energy, and that is also my responsibility to make sure the team operates in a way that we can use him in the best way,” Tata Martino stated to reporters.
“I feel that in these first two matches, we have relied on him too much, which has caused him significant fatigue in both games… What we need to get back to is the team finding him to make plays and sometimes finding him for the finishes.”
