Lionel Messi and Inter Miami begin their MLS Cup Playoff campaign on Friday night when they open their Round One series against Atlanta United.
Messi and Miami come into the postseason in strong form as the Supporters’ Shield winners and top playoff seed.
The Argentine star is healthy and productive after he spent much of the summer recovering from an ankle ligament injury picked up on international duty at the Copa America.
And he saved his best MLS regular-season performance for last, scoring a stunning second-half hat trick off the bench in a 6-2 victory over the New England Revolution last Saturday.
That took Messi’s regular season totals to 20 goals and 16 assists in just 19 appearances. And it pushed Miami to a new MLS regular-season points record of 74.
“For the team, it’s a boost of confidence, more confidence,” head coach Tata Martino explained in Spanish. “The truth is, it’s a victory for all of us who make up the Inter Miami family. It’s hard to make this an individual achievement; I think it’s the triumph of everyone.”
Miami faces a ninth-seeded Atlanta United side that has endured a turbulent season. Head coach Gonzalo Pineda was let go in early June, and attackers Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis were both transferred abroad over the summer.
After playing its way into the postseason on the final day of the regular season with a 2-1 win at Orlando City, Atlanta stayed on the road and defeated CF Montreal on penalty kicks in Tuesday’s Eastern Conference wild-card game following a 2-2 draw.
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan made up for an error in the second half by saving a penalty kick, and Atlanta was perfect from the spot in the tiebreak after letting a 2-0 halftime lead slip away.
Interim head coach Rob Valentino’s side is now unbeaten in its last three and appears to have found some resiliency it lacked for much of the season.
“I don’t have a perfect answer (for why) but I’m just glad it’s happening now,” Valentino said. “I think that over time we would see something like this. That was our internal belief.”
–Field Level Media