After winning the Supporters’ Shield and setting a new record for most points in a season, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are out of the MLS Cup playoffs in the first round following a 3-2 loss to Atlanta United on Saturday. With that loss, the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference have been eliminated as parity is alive and well in Major League Soccer.
At first, the Herons may have thought it would be smooth sailing when Matías Rojas opened the scoring in the 17th minute, but that lead only lasted two minutes. Atlanta United forward Jamal Thiare scored a quick brace in the first half to give the Five Stripes the lead before halftime. Brad Guzan’s saves were key, but interim coach Rob Valentino’s team has had Miami’s numbers all season.
In five meetings with the Herons between the regular season and the playoffs, Atlanta United won three games, tied one and only lost once. Messi did everything he could to get Miami back into the game, scoring a collection goal with his head, but it wasn’t enough.
When a player went down due to injury in the box, Inter Miami called for the match to be stopped, but Atlanta United continued to advance before Bartosz Slisz headed home the go-ahead goal in the 76th minute. Assisted by Pedro Amador, who now has an assist in every playoff game so far for Atlanta United, was a great way to go out for Miami.
When the injury occurred, Rojas was aiming and stopped running as Atlanta United continued to push for the lead. Amador sent in an excellent cross that Slisz scored for only his second MLS goal. Things like that show the style Valentino was able to instill in this Atlanta team while also showing that Miami has work to do.
With stars who have been there and done that, such as Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, losing by not blowing the whistle is a great way to go down. It will now be a long off-season ahead for Tata Martino and the team as despite winning the Supporters’ Sheild for the second trophy in the club’s history, the Herons failed to win any knockout competition they entered this season.
From selling Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis to firing head coach Gonzalo Pineda and needing help to make the playoffs, the Five Stripes were not supposed to be in this series against Inter Miami, but not only did they make it but they were also able stand firm. . The fact that Busquets was not available for the second game and was only fit enough to come off the bench in this one hurt Miami’s defensive shape, and although the attackers performed well, Guzan was there to stop everything that came. introduced him.
Guzan made seven saves in the match, including one from close range, to preserve the victory as the clock ran out. At 40 years old, he can still put together top-notch performances and Atlanta will need more as they are now set to travel to Orlando City to continue their playoff run.
