Inter Miami vs Atlanta United live updates: Lionel Messi reportedly out of MLS match

Unlike Atlanta United, Inter Miami did play last weekend, hosting Sporting Kansas City at home last Saturday. With the international break in full swing, they were without not only Lionel Messi but several other key players as well. Despite the absences, Miami managed to come away with a 3-2 win, taking a vital three points in the playoff race.

Sporting KC took an early lead through Daniel Salloi after a Drake Callender mistake in Miami’s goal, but a pair of goals from Leonardo Campana put Miami ahead before halftime. Facundo Farias doubled Miami’s lead on the hour mark, capitalizing on a quick restart by Sergio Busquets. A late consolation goal for Sporting by Alan Pulido was not enough to change the result.

The result marked the first time that Inter Miami had won a game without Lionel Messi since well before the Argentine joined the club.

It’s been a full two weeks since Atlanta United last played. They traveled to Texas to face FC Dallas on Sept. 2, coming away with a 2-2 draw.

They fell behind in the fourth minute, but Giorgos Giakoumakis and Saba Lobzhanidze scored either side of halftime to fire Atlanta into the lead.

That lead would last only four minutes though, as Bernard Kamungo answered for Dallas.

What does Lionel Messi do with a day off? Spends it watching his son play for Inter Miami’s academy team of course.

In addition to Lionel Messi dismissing turf as a problem, head coach Tata Martino also said earlier this week that he had no concerns about Atlanta’s field.

“My experience with Atlanta’s turf has always been positive,” the former Atlanta United coach told The Athletic on Tuesday.

“From the time that we made our debut with Atlanta (United) on that field, the way our players adapted to the surface. They adapted immediately and we didn’t have to continue to train on grass. And the same thing happened when we played in Atlanta with Mexico. The players adapted quickly.

“It’s a very cushioned type of artificial surface. Up until now I haven’t heard any negative opinions about the surface from players that I’ve coached.

“That doesn’t mean that we’re not addressing the fact that we’ll play on artificial turf but it isn’t anything that’s driving us crazy. We hope to play a good game no matter what.”

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of six venues in Major League Soccer with artificial turf.

However in August, Lionel Messi made clear that playing on turf wouldn’t be an issue.

“The truth is my youth was spent on artificial turf, my whole life was on that pitch,” Messi said at his press conference after joining the club. “Truth is it’s been a while since I’ve played on artificial turf, but I have no problem adapting myself again.”

Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino spoke with The Athletic‘s Felipe Cardenas about what he has experienced at the club this year, including:

• Telling Lionel Messi to “relax” after a draw
• The “nice dynamic” with David Beckham
• The integration of Inter Miami’s trio of stars

On what he tells Messi: “We never talk about his individual role. What I believe we need is for him to have the freedom to move into the spaces where he can find the right conditions to play. What we have to do as a team is adapt to his movements, not limit his movements.”

You can find the full interview at the link below.

Today’s match also marks the first time that Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino faces Atlanta United at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium since he managed the club for their first two seasons in MLS.

He led Atlanta to a playoff appearance in their inaugural season in 2017 before winning MLS Cup in 2018. He was named 2018 MLS Coach of the Year before departing to take over management of the Mexico national team.

Speaking yesterday, Martino acknowledged the emotions of the reunion: “First of all, playing at Mercedes-Benz, which is a wonderful stadium, you can imagine how I’m feeling. And then, the people of Atlanta are also wonderful. I hope to enjoy tomorrow’s game.”

Today’s match marks the first time that Josef Martinez returns to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to face Atlanta United since playing for the club from its inaugural season in 2017 to 2022.

Martinez scored 98 goals across 134 MLS regular season matches for Atlanta. He was named MLS MVP in 2018 as he led the club to its first MLS Cup title.

Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda said yesterday that he was preparing his side with the expectation that Lionel Messi would be playing for Inter Miami: “I would say that we have to be collectively better. Have the ball more than anyone else, that’s the best way to defend for me.

“We know how difficult it can be if we allow Messi a lot of time and space a lot of times, so we just have to minimize the danger with reducing the space for him and reducing the amount of passes he can make. So, that’s the approach.

“I’m actually quite happy about this stage and this moment with Messi, and it’s a big game, and it’s going to be a good challenge for sure. But I think it’s going to motivate the players very, very good.”

Yesterday, Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan spoke about today’s rematch against Inter Miami as an opportunity to help his team’s position in the standings: “We need to make sure that we’re willing to sacrifice and give everything. Because when we played them the first time, we weren’t there.

“Saturday has a chance to be one of those moments that, you know, after X amount of weeks down the road, we look back and say, ‘Oh, that Miami game at home was a big night for us.’ And so that’s what we’re looking forward to.

“We need to now try and finish as high as we can, hopefully to find ourselves in a place where we can be the home team in terms of playoffs and whatnot. And so that’s our aim. And our aim is to approach these last six games with a finals mentality.”

The second match of the Lionel Messi era in America saw Inter Miami take on Atlanta United in the group stage of the Leagues Cup back in July.

Messi and Sergio Busquets made their first starts for their new team. Miami coasted to a comfortable 4-0 victory thanks to a pair of goals from each of Messi and Robert Taylor.

Today’s match is the 12th meeting between these clubs across all competitions. Inter Miami lead the head-to-head record with five wins and three losses, alongside three draws.

Miami have won both previous meetings in 2023, taking a 2-1 victory in May and a 4-0 win in the Leagues Cup in July. Both of those matches were held in Miami however.

Inter Miami announced yesterday that they have signed forward Leonardo Campana to a contract extension through the 2027 MLS season, with an option for 2028.

Campana originally joined Miami on loan from Wolves in 2022 before the club made the transfer permanent. The 23-year-old Ecuador international has scored nine goals across 30 total appearances this season.

Inter Miami’s Benjamin Cremaschi made his first career appearance for the United States national team on Tuesday, coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute of their 4-0 victory over Oman. He was involved in the team’s fourth goal.

Prior to the match, U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter had this to say of the 18-year-old: “He fits in really well, Benja, He’s a great kid. He learns really quickly, adapting well to the speed of the game. It’s been great having him in camp.”

Messi won the 2022-23 Ligue 1 title with former club Paris Saint-Germain and also became the all-time leading goalscorer in Europe’s top five leagues.

The qualification period for the award, however, does not include the men’s World Cup in 2022.

You can find the full list of nominees at the link below.

U.S. Soccer announced Friday that it will build a national training facility in the Atlanta metropolitan area funded in part by a $50 million donation from Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank.

The federation has not yet finalized an exact location for the facility, but it hopes that construction will begin next year. U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson is currently leading the search for the site, which will be selected in January 2024.

The organization has also not set a target opening date for the facility, which will serve as headquarters for U.S. Soccer, currently based in Chicago. It will include training fields, facilities for coaching and referee education, recovery and performance analysis and other infrastructure. It will also host youth tournaments and soccer conferences.

Just like Miami, Atlanta are led by an Argentine playmaker:

1. Thiago Almada (Atlanta United): 14 assists
2. Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo): 13
3. Carles Gil (New England Revolution): 12
4. Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati): 11
5. Five players tied with 10

Atlanta boast one of the league’s leading scorers:

1. Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC): 14 goals
2. Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati): 13
3. Alan Pulido (Sporting Kansas City): 13
4. Giorgos Giakoumakis (Atlanta United): 13
5. Three players tied with 12 goals

Assists serve as the first tiebreaker.

Let’s take a look at where these two teams currently stand in the Eastern Conference table:

1. Cincinnati: 57 points, 27 games played
2. New England: 48 pts, 27 gp
3. Orlando City: 47 pts, 27 gp
4. Philadelphia: 46 pts, 26 gp
5. Columbus: 45 pts, 27 gp
6. Atlanta United: 42 pts, 28 gp
7. Nashville: 40 pts, 27 gp
8. Montreal: 35 pts, 27 gp
9. D.C. United: 34 pts, 28 gp
10. Chicago: 32 pts, 27 gp
11. Charlotte: 31 pts, 26 gp
12. New York City: 30 pts, 28 gp
13. New York Red Bulls: 29 pts, 27 gp
14. Inter Miami: 28 pts, 26 gp
15. Toronto: 22 pts, 27 gp

The top nine teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. The regular season consist of 34 matches for each team.

Miami benefit from having at least one game in hand on most of the teams above them. Atlanta are in a strong position but will want to remain inside the top seven in order to skip the Wild Card round.

Nicknamed the “halo board” by those involved in its construction, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s gigantic 360-degree screen is 58 feet tall and 1,075 feet in circumference.

It contains more than 83,500 square feet of LED displays, consisting of more than 62 million individual LEDs.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

• Location: Atlanta, Georgia
• Year opened: 2017
• Capacity: 71,000
• Tenants: Atlanta United (MLS), Atlanta Falcons (NFL)
• Notable events hosted: 2018 MLS Cup, Super Bowl LIII, 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship, 2018 MLS All-Star Game

Today’s match can be streamed on Apple TV via their MLS Season Pass subscription service.