Inter Miami remains a strong contender for this year’s MLS Cup without Lionel Messi.
Having the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner in the side certainly helps prospects of winning a first MLS Cup, but there's no guarantee Messi will return to full fitness this season.
Any team lucky enough to have a player like Messi in its starting lineup would no doubt lean on the Argentine from time-to-time or have most, if not all, of its attacks flow through the 37-year-old.
Messi has missed a large chunk of action through Copa América this summer (seven MLS matches missed) and Leagues Cup (four matches missed) because of an ongoing ankle injury. Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino has done a phenomenal job getting the most from the rest of his squad.
Messi's last MLS appearance was June 1 scoring a goal in a 3-3 draw at home against St. Louis CITY. Miami has a 10W-0D-3L record across both MLS and Leagues Cup play in Messi's absence.
Outside of a 6-1 defeat to FC Cincinnati in early July, Miami’s only other two defeats were a 2-1 loss to Tigres -- after rotating the squad for the Leagues Cup knockout stage -- and a 3-2 defeat to Columbus Crew in the Round of 16 in which the Herons collapsed after going two goals in front.
Even though Messi has 25 MLS goal involvements in just 12 appearances – or 40% of Miami’s 61 league goals – Miami hasn’t had any trouble finding the back of the net. With players like Luis Suárez, Diego Gómez, Jordi Alba and Matías Rojas, the Herons scored at least two goals in 11 of 13 matches since Messi last featured.
One aspect sorely missed is Messi’s ability to keep hold of the ball late in matches. Miami’s inconsistent defense is middle of the pack with 40 goals conceded in MLS action (16th most in the league).
Martino would of course love to have the Barcelona legend back in the side given the club’s lofty ambitions in the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup, but the Herons are still serious contenders with their experienced and talented squad outside of Messi.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inter Miami's Case for the MLS Cup Without Lionel Messi.
