Lionel Messi put on a show once again as Inter Miami gave Atlanta United a 4-0 thumping, ensuring their qualification to the next round of the 2023 Leagues Cup.
A highly anticipated matchup was on the cards, as Messi and Sergio Busquets were making their first ever starts for Inter Miami up against Atlanta United and Thiago Almada. Both Almada and Messi were part of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winning squad, but they were in opposite colors this time around.
Atlanta United applied lots of pressure in the early going, but Miami made them pay for their missed chances. Busquets played an over-the-top through ball to send Messi through, and the Herons’ No. 10 caressed it onto the post before tapping in the rebound.
Messi and Busquets continued to be given too much space to operate in by Atlanta United. The Argentine scored his second of the game after playing forward Robert Taylor out wide before receiving the cut-back pass inside Atlanta’s 18 yard box, calmly placing the ball in the bottom corner. Atlanta’s defensive record was on-show in the first half, as they allowed Miami to create a lot of chances at will.
On the stroke of half-time, Miami added to their two-goal cushion as Taylor fired a left-footed shot into the far top-corner, and Brad Guzan had no chance of saving it. Messi started the move, cutting in from the right-wing to feed a pass to Benjamin Cremaschi, who chipped it into Taylor’s path as he smashed it home. The Herons were in cruise control and en route to the knockout stage at 3-0.
Taylor found the back of the net for the second time on the night as he and Messi raced forward on a counter-attack from an Atlanta corner-kick. Atlanta’s Brooks Lennon misplaced a bass towards his own goal, and Messi pounced on it and played Taylor through with a simple pass and the Finland international’s shot went off the bottom post and in to make it 4-0 to the Herons.
The Five Stripes had a chance to get a consolation goal, though, after substitute defender Christopher McVey dragged down Derrick Etienne Jr. in his own box. However, Drake Callender stood tall between the sticks and denied Almada from converting the penalty, keeping a clean sheet.
Inter Miami advance to the knockout stage of the 2023 Leagues Cup, 4-0, after claiming another three points, while the winner of Atlanta United vs. Cruz Azul on July 29 will join Miami in advancing out of the group.
GK: Drake Callender – 9/10 – Was mainly a spectator in the first half but was alert when called to action. Made a good save late in the game against Miguel Berry and stopped Almada from converting a free-kick. Saved Almada’s penalty kick attempt. Quickly becoming one of the more underrated goalkeepers in MLS.
RB: DeAndre Yedlin – 7/10 – Was once again very active down the right-hand side, contributing both in attack and defense. Made some good clearances near his own box.
CB: Kamal Miller – 7/10 – Made a couple of good runs into Atlanta’s half and was very composed on the ball.
CB: Serhiy Kysvstov – 6/10 – Had a quiet game at the back and wasn’t noticeable, exactly what you want from a center-back.
LB: Noah Allen – 6/10 – The youngster had a quiet night but limited Atlanta’s attack on his side of the field.
CM: Benjamin Cremaschi – 7/10 – Linked up with his fellow attackers well, assisted Taylor’s volleyed goal with a beautiful lobbed pass.
CM: Dixon Arroyo – 6/10 – Arroyo continued to do the dirty work in the midfield, cleaning up any loose balls and recycling play.
CM: Sergio Busquets – 6/10 – Other than assisting Messi’s first goal, he gave the ball away on a couple of occasions and put his team in dangerous positions. Unlike the Spaniard to do that, but he still may be wearing off some rust.
RW: Lionel Messi – 10/10 – Everything looked so easy for him, as he picked up the ball in the midfield and glided past Atlanta’s midfielders, scoring two goals with ease. What really makes him impressive is that he’s immediately raised the levels of his teammates.
ST: Josef Martinez – 6/10 – Like he did against Cruz Azul, Martinez held the ball up well and linked up Messi several times against his former club.
LW: Robert Taylor – 9/10 – After scoring a goal last time out, Taylor upped his levels and scored twice and assisted once, scoring a terrific volleyed goal.
Substitutes
CB: Christopher McVey (72′ for Serhiy Kryvstov) – 4/10 – Got sent off after pulling down Etienne Jr. in the box. Luckily, Atlanta didn’t convert.
DM: Victor Ulloa (72′ for Sergio Busquets) – N/A.
CM: David Ruiz (73′ for Benjamin Cremaschi) – 6/10 – Had a few nice moments on the ball after coming on.
RW: Robbie Robinson (78′ for Lionel Messi) – 6/10 – Tried to make things happen in his short cameo even though Miami was ahead by four goals.
ST: Leonardo Campana (82′ for Robert Taylor) – N/A.
Manager
Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino – 9/10 – With the injuries Miami has, he picked arguably their strongest starting XI and it worked to perfection (obviously having Messi in the starting lineup was always going to work wonders).
