Tata Martino explains Lionel Messi’s absence after Inter Miami loss to Monterrey

The coach spoke after Inter Miami lost against Monterrey to a late goal in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

All of the talk around Inter Miami is when they will have Lionel Messi back in order to better compete in a season full of challenges. So his absence in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup 2024 was a significant setback in their campaign.

However, despite the 1-2 home loss to Monterrey, manager Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino was satisfied with the level shown by his players against Monterrey.

The South American manager made his position clear regarding the absence of Messi in what was a hugely demanding match: “It’s one match at a time. We understood that this was not the match for him to be in, he was not ready. That’s how it will be against Colorado (Rapids), that’s how it will be with the return leg in Monterrey, but he’s feeling better every day, it’s just that today we were taking too big a risk”.

Following this, Martino opened up on his view of the game as a whole: “Given the circumstances surrounding the opponent we faced, thinking that Monterrey had a fit squad and that we had important absences, the truth is that I liked the way we competed. We did really well, if I review the match, we didn’t have any dangerous defensive moments.

“The set piece for the 1-1 is an unfortunate action of ours and the 2-1 is a goal from long range, which was simply a product of the talent that the rival has. The truth is that we competed very well and that is what I think is important and attractive about the team, because when you get to these stages with the best teams in the continent it is also a learning experience”, Martino concluded on the game which saw yet another Liga MX team get one over on their MLS