A preseason game in Saudi Arabia hyped worldwide as a showdown between legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo turned into a nightmare for Inter Miami on Thursday.
Messi spent the first 82 minutes of the match against Al Nassr on the bench as a precaution after he felt discomfort following Monday’s loss to Al Hilal. Inter Miami conceded three goals in the first 12 minutes and was humiliated 6-0 by the Saudi team.
The Argentine star came in for a cameo in the 83rd minute after Saudi fans at Kingdom Arena spent much of the game chanting his name. But it was a lost cause for Miami long before his entrance.
Despite its expensive star-studded roster, Inter Miami remains winless through four games of its seven-game preseason world tour and has been outscored 11-3.
Messi felt a twinge after Monday’s game, tried to train on Wednesday, but still had slight discomfort, so he underwent an MRI, according to a club source. As a precaution, based on the test results and how he felt, the coaches and medical staff planned to give the Argentine star a few days to recover.
He was expected to be left off the roster for Thursday’s game, but instead was on the bench.
Ronaldo watched the entire match from a suite due to a calf injury that led to Al Nassr cancel two games in China last week. TV cameras cut away to Ronaldo and Messi during the first half and the Portuguese star was smirking while his Argentine archrival looked forlorn as his teammates struggled all over the field.
Brazilian player Anderson Talisca scored a hat trick for Al Nassr. His first goal came in the 10th minute. His second was a penalty kick in the 51st minute, and his third goal was in the 73rd. Otavio opened the scoring for the Saudi’s with a third-minute goal. Aymeric Laporte scored in the 12th and Mohammed Khalil Marran in the 68th.
With each Al Nassr goal, the criticism from Inter Miami fans on social media grew more harsh.
Al Nassr outshot Miami 21-12 and had 14 shots on goal while Miami had just three.
Inter Miami coach Tata Martino was not made available to the media, but wingback Julian Gressel said the coach was more animated than usual during halftime, as Miami trailed 3-0.
“Obviously not the result we wanted, but obviously, a lot of lessons to take,” Gressel said. “There’s a lot for us to learn from, for us to grow. There’s a ton of stuff we can look at on film, but it starts with us having a good start to the game. You can’t be down 3-nil in 12 minutes into the game. Those are lessons you learn in preseason.”
Martino has said that the team would be careful about managing players’ minutes during the seven-game, five-country preseason tour and that his primary focus was keeping the team healthy and fit for the start of the MLS season Feb. 21 at home against Real Salt Lake.
Gressel stressed that the team wants to be at its best when the season starts.
“Ultimately, when the time comes, when it counts for us, that’s when we want to be at our best and these games are valuable, even though they sting quite a bit,” Gressel said.
Asked how difficult it is to play preseason games when there is such a bright spotlight and pressure on Inter Miami, Gressel said: “I think it’s actually good to have games like this to prepare for the season. These aren’t your regular preseason games I’ve played in the past where you play in your training gear at times against other MLS teams. These are real games and that that will bode well for us.”
Gressel said it was nice to see the support for Messi and Inter Miami from the Saudi fans. “He’s a popular guy, for sure.”
The team has three preseason games remaining, Monday in Hong Kong, Tuesday in Tokyo and Feb. 15 at home against Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys, the hometown team of Messi and Martino.
Details of Messi’s latest injury are unknown. He missed the final stretch of the 2023 season with a nagging hamstring injury.
The Inter Miami vs. Al Nassr game was being billed as “The Last Dance,” as it could possibly have been the last time fans got to see the icons face each other.
Miami’s starters Thursday were: Leo Campana, Luis Suarez, David Ruiz, Sergio Busquets, Gregore, Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Tomas Aviles, Julian Gressel, and Drake Callender. DeAndre Yedlin replaced Alba and Robert Taylor replaced Suarez in the 69th minute. Messi replaced Campana in the 83rd and Lawson Sunderland went in for Ruiz in the 84th.
Argentine center back Nicolas Freire, who was recently signed on loan from Mexican league PUMAS, has yet to play for Inter Miami. According to a team spokesperson, he is still getting integrated into the team because he arrived at training camp later than the rest of the players.
Gressel was asked whether Thursday’s result was an indictment of MLS and a sign the Saudi Pro League is further ahead. He replied: “I don’t think you can compare. We are very early on in the process, only in our third week together as a team after a long couple months off. So, you can’t really compare. I think we would love to have a rematch at some point. That’s the competitor in me, maybe in an official competition like a Club World Cup.”
Note: Defender Inter Miami traded defender Christopher McVey to D.C. United in exchange for a 2024 international roster spot and up to $100,000 in general allocation money if he meets certain performance metrics. The team also transferred midfielder Nicolas Stefanelli to Fehervar FC in Hungary.
