Lionel Messi, Inter Miami flops out of MLS playoffs, stunned by Atlanta

Lionel Messis first MLS playoffs started with momentum and huge expectations. They finished Saturday with a stunning upset and a GOAT whimper.

Messi and Inter Miami, the history-making top seedcrashed out in the first round with a second straight defeat to Atlanta United – which narrowly snuck into the play-offs with a losing record and negative goal difference.

Messi, who had been quiet in defeat in Game 2, scored his first play-off goal to level this decisive Game 3 at 2-2. But Atlanta responded; Bartosz Slisz regained the lead with a header in the 76th minute; and the visitors sent shockwaves through American soccer with a 3-2 defeat.

Miami entered these playoffs as the clearest favorite in MLS history. They waltzed to a win in Game 1 of a three-game series and seemed certain to advance. All they had to do was win one of two games against an Atlanta team that had prevailed in less than a third of its regular-season games — just 10 of 34.

But then, in Game 2, the Herons coughed up a lead in Atlanta.

Their 2-1 defeat made for a “do-or-die” Game 3, Messi’s first in MLS.

Or, at least, that’s how English speakers describe it. In Spanish there is a similar but different expression. “Es un partido de matar o morir,” Inter Miami midfielder Federico Redondo said this this week. Not ‘do or die’, but rather ‘kill or be killed’.

And in a dazzling Saturday twist, it was Atlanta that did the killing.

The No. 9 seed, who won a play-in game on penalties, weathered an early Miami storm at Chase Stadium. Then, immediately after an early goal from Matías Rojas, Atlanta’s Jamal Thiaré punished some lax Inter defense. He scored twice in three minutes and the underdogs led 2-1 at half-time.

In the second half, Messi rose to meet the moment – ​​temporarily.

But Atlanta answered.

And at the other end of the field, goalkeeper Brad Guzan, at the age of 40, made some heroic saves. He shot away Jordi Alba’s header from close range. He frustrated Luis Suarez and Messi. He made seven stops in total. He was without a doubt the man of the match and of the series.

Messi and his friends were a constant threat, but not the implacable force they had been sometimes in the GOAT’s first full MLS season. Suarez dived for a penalty but didn’t get a call. Messi hit two free kicks against the walls of Atlanta. His shoulders seemed to slump in frustration.

At the final whistle, he trudged through a tunnel with a blank look.

Guzan and defenders bumped their chests with joy.

And Miami’s title hopes died.

Their loss opens an already yawning Eastern Conference, which said goodbyes to the No. 2 seed Columbus Crew last weekend and No. 3 seed FC Cincinnati earlier Saturday.

It’s also a huge loss for MLS, whose playoffs are losing significant luster, and whose leaders have so far failed completely to capitalize on Messi’s presence.

It doesn’t take away from Miami’s 74 points, the best regular season in league history. “We celebrated the achievement because it was something difficult and important,” Messi said a recent interview.

“But,” he acknowledged, “we are aware that the real title we want is the MLS (Cup).”

Now he may only have one year left to chase it down.

What went wrong for Messi and Inter Miami?

In many ways, Messi and Miami were victims of the arbitrariness of football. In all three games they created more chances and better chances. By means of one estimatethey collected 7.9 expected goals (xG) over the series compared to Atlanta’s 3.84. And if you double an opponent’s xG — special when you employ two of the best goalscorers ever, you’re going to win more often than not. With Messi on the field, Miami didn’t even lose a single game like this during the regular season.

They lost on Saturday largely because they ran into a bare brick wall: Guzan.

It was not about management malpractice. It wasn’t an epic Messi choke. It was mainly a fluke.

But at the same time, the Herons were dogged by a flaw that plagued them all season. They never found a solid centre-back. And they never had the legs or the front six structure to protect their leaky defense. So again and again they sent goals.

On Saturday they were particularly vulnerable without Sergio Busquets, who had not yet fully recovered from an illness or a minor injury. (After missing Game 2, he ended up playing over twelve minutes in Game 3 off the bench.)

But they also made individual mistakes. Take the second goal, for example, which started at the feet of Miami defenseman David Martinez. He played a late, loose forward pass, which was cut around midfield. Then he didn’t recover, and Atlanta used exactly the space he should have covered.

This kind of decline has been a hallmark of Miami’s season. Openness was a function of building an attacking super team around Messi. Although they put up a record number of points, they were actually the fourth-worst defensive team in the Eastern Conference. per FBref xG matches.

In the regular season, goalkeeper Drake Callender often saved them.

Or, even more often, their porosity didn’t matter because they had Suarez and Messi.

None of these statements came true on Saturday. And the most expensivethe most popular team in MLS history is done.