Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami team was blanked 3-0 at FC Cincinnati on Wednesday, ending his Major League Soccer record run of games with five goals. The Argentine star forward, 38, had scored two goals in five straight games for Miami, giving him 16 goals for the season as Inter won four games and drew. Not since his time with Barcelona in 2012 had Messi scored a brace or more in five straight games.
However, Cincinnati limited Miami to just two shots on goal during the match.
“We were obviously outplayed from the start of the game today,” Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano stated via a translator.
“Winning the individual duels was really tough for us. We physically bring a lot of hustle and bustle, which may be one of the reasons, and we ultimately pay for it.
“Leo was knocked down at the end, but it went well.”
In the 16th minute, Gerardo Valenzuela, a 20-year-old American midfielder, gave Cincinnati the lead.
After that, Brazilian attacker Evander gave the home team all the goals they needed in the 50th and 70th minutes.
We didn’t get to play the game we had planned. They constantly pressed us, we weren’t alert or clear-headed, and they gave us a good beating,” Mascherano remarked.
With five draws for 38 points, Miami dropped to 11-4, sixth in the Eastern Conference, and eight points behind Philadelphia, the MLS leader who defeated Montreal to maintain a one-point advantage over Cincinnati.
In order to surpass their opponents for the league lead, Inter Miami would need to win all three of their remaining games against both teams.
“From the beginning to the end, the opponent outperformed us,” Mascherano stated. The outcome and the manner in which they defeated us clearly worry us. We must now take a break and consider the upcoming game.
The New York Red Bulls, who defeated New England 5-3 at home on Wednesday, will host Miami on Saturday. Eric Choupo-Moting of Cameroon and Emil Forsberg of Sweden each scored two goals in the victory.
De Paul is going to Miami.
Inter Miami and Atletico Madrid player Rodrigo De Paul have reached an agreement, an insider close to the talks said AFP on Wednesday.
According to the agreement, De Paul will play for Miami for the next four seasons on loan from Atletico Madrid, with a more than $12 million buyout option for Inter after that.
In Inter’s first game in the Leagues Cup, a competition between MLS and Mexican League clubs, on July 30, De Paul might make his Miami debut against Atlas of Mexico.
Eleven months before the World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, he will depart Europe after four seasons in Madrid to join his compatriot Messi.
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Messi has yet to confirm whether he will participate in the World Cup.
Reuniting with De Paul, who was a colleague of Messi on Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winning squad, may help Messi sign a new contract with Inter, whose current agreement with the superstar expires at the end of this year.
In 2026, when Inter will open a new stadium in Miami, the team hopes Messi will remain.
Messi, Uruguayan Luis Suarez, and Spaniards Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets are among the Miami core that DePaul, 31, joins.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Charlotte would host the 2026 MLS All-Star Game. The MLS All-Stars will play the Mexican League All-Stars in this year’s all-star showdown next Wednesday in Austin, Texas.
