Inter Miami star to play against Nashville SC
Fans at Geodis Park for Thursday night’s CONCACAF Champions Cup clash between Nashville SC and Inter Miami will get their money’s worth.
Lionel Messi is in the starting lineup for Inter Miami for the first leg of the round of 16 series, which kicks off at 8 p.m. CT.
Messi’s availability — or lack thereof — cast a shadow over Inter Miami’s preseason tour of Asia, culminating with him sitting out a match in Hong Kong against a team of local all-stars. This led angry fans to chant “refund” and boo Miami co-owner David Beckham when he addressed the crowd after the game.
Messi has played all 90 minutes in Inter Miami’s three regular-season MLS matches. He has three goals and an assist in leading the Herons to a 2-0-1 start. Miami coach Gerardo Martino said before the season that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner wants to play every game he can.
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However, before Inter Miami’s 5-0 rout of Orlando City last Saturday, Martino said that the 36-year-old Messi suffered from “significant fatigue” in his first two games due to the team’s over-reliance on him.
Messi’s potential workload in March is heavy with seven matches in a little more than three weeks, including two friendlies in the United States with the Argentine national team against El Salvador and Costa Rica.
The second leg of the Champions Cup series with Nashville is March 13 at Inter Miami.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
