Lionel Messi made his return to the pitch Saturday night for Inter Miami, but his second-half appearance off the bench wasn’t enough to prevent the club from losing 1-0 at home to FC Cincinnati. With the loss, Inter Miami is officially eliminated from playoff contention with two matches remaining. Here’s what you need to know:
- Messi subbed into the match in the 55th minute, replacing defender Tomás Avilés.
- The 36-year-old hadn’t played since Sept. 20 with what Inter Miami manager Tata Martino described as “fatigue,” according to a team spokesperson. Inter Miami had two draws and two losses in four games without Messi.
- Messi and Inter Miami’s last match is Oct. 21. The 2024 MLS regular season won’t kick off until late February, but Miami has a busy year ahead since they will also play in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Lionel Messi is back on the pitch for Inter Miami after missing the last four matches.
🎥 @MLS pic.twitter.com/ZChLBtvSjU
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 8, 2023
Evaluating Messi’s performance
The legend looked rusty in his 35 minutes on the pitch. Messi will now head to South America for Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru next week. — Tom Bogert, staff soccer writer
How Inter Miami fared with Messi
Inter Miami was bottom of the Eastern Conference when Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba joined the club this summer. They won the Leagues Cup, a World Cup-style tournament featuring all the teams in MLS and Liga MX, and advanced to the final of the U.S. Open Cup. Messi (and Alba) missed that final due to his fitness issues and Miami lost to the Houston Dynamo.
They currently sit second-bottom of the East. If they win both of their remaining games, they could climb as high as 12th place, though not quite close enough to the playoff line at 9th place. — Bogert
Required reading
(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)