Author: Amrit Santlani
Lionel Messi missed his fourth consecutive game for Inter Miami as the David Beckham-owned club were beaten 1-4 by the Chicago Fire on Wednesday in Major League Soccer.
The 36-year-old World Cup winner was injured during Miami’s 4-0 win over Toronto in the MLS match on September 20 and has since missed four games in a row.
During the four meetings, Inter Miami didn’t win a single match in Messi’s absence. The team drew 1-1 with Orlondo, followed by another 1-1 draw against New York City. The 2-1 defeat to the Houston Dynamo in the US Open Cup final was a blow, and the loss to Chicago ended any hopes Miami had of reaching the MLS playoffs.
The first half between Miami and Chicago ended goalless and Xherdan Shaqiri opened the scoring shortly after the restart. Josef Martinez equalized the game with a penalty four minutes later, but Maren Haile-Selassie scored twice quickly after the hour mark to put Chicago 3-1 up. Shaqiri also added his two goals and added gloss to the scoreline.
Speaking about Messi’s absence, his teammate Sergio Busquets revealed that Messi would love to be on the pitch, but with the injuries he can’t help it.
“The first person who wants Leo to be on the pitch is Leo. The second is us, his teammates, because we know how important he is to us. It’s a shame, but in the world of soccer you can’t control injuries“, Busquets told GOAL.
Since arriving at Inter Miami, Messi has made 12 appearances, scoring 11 goals and providing another five assists, but in recent games, Tata Martino’s side haven’t looked like the same team that went on a run of nine consecutive wins.
The Herons are now second in the Eastern Conference, trailing Montreal, who occupy the final playoff spot, by five points with two games remaining. They have one less match, but they’ll have a lot of work to do.