Inter Miami had a perfect start, with Suarez opening the scoring in the first minute. A quick attack on the left flank initiated by Jordi Alba allowed Diego Gomez to break through and pass the ball to Suarez in the penalty area, who fired a quick shot to score. Messi was still watching the match at that time.
Coach Tata Martino fielded Inter Miami’s strongest lineup, with the “super four” of Messi, Busquets, Suarez and Jordi Alba. Outstanding attacking midfielder Diego Gomez also returned to the starting lineup, along with Federico Redondo and Yannick Bright. For Atlanta United, veteran goalkeeper Brad Guzan (40 years old, who played in the Premier League for many years) guarded the goal, becoming the most significant stopper for the away team.
After the early opening goal, Inter Miami completely controlled the match and created an overwhelming attacking game. Messi and his teammates, such as defender Marcelo Weigandt and Suarez, continuously had more opportunities to increase the score. However, goalkeeper Guzan played extremely well and luckily hit the target, saving Atlanta United from conceding goals.
Inter Miami dominated their opponents for more than 30 minutes in the first half, but their failure to take advantage of scoring opportunities to increase the score gap cost them. At the end of the first half, Atlanta United gradually regained their spirit and created several counter-attacking opportunities. In the 39th minute, they unexpectedly equalized the score at 1-1. The goal was scored by midfielder Saba Lobjanidze after a mistake by Inter Miami’s defense.
In the second half, Inter Miami repeated their dominance. Messi and his teammates put a lot of pressure on the Atlanta United defense in hopes of turning the game around. However, the opponent set up a tight defense to prevent the combination between Messi and Busquets.
In a deadlocked situation, Messi created an opportunity for Jordi Alba to make a difference for Inter Miami. In the 59th minute, from Messi’s return ball outside the penalty area, from quite a distance, Jordi Alba joined the attack and suddenly fired a dangerous shot past goalkeeper Guzan to raise the score to 2-1 for Inter Miami.
This difference-making goal helped Inter Miami play more solidly than in the first half. In which, Messi had at least 2 more chances to increase the score, but the Atlanta United defenders and goalkeeper Guzan played with great effort to block the scoring opportunities of the 37-year-old player.
Although they did not score another goal, the 2-1 win in the first match of the “3-game” series in the first round of the MLS Cup play-off helped Inter Miami temporarily gain the upper hand over Atlanta United.
In the next match, Messi and his teammates will visit Atlanta United’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 6:00 a.m. on November 3. If they continue to win, Inter Miami will soon qualify for the next round.
If they lose, they will play a third match with this opponent at Chase Stadium at 8am on November 10th to decide the place to continue. The matches in this play-off round only count the results of each match, after 90 minutes if the two teams are tied, they will proceed to penalty shootout.
