Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami saw off its continental trophy dreams in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League in Monterrey, Mexico on Wednesday night.
Mexican Primera Division powerhouse Monterrey defeated Miami 3-1, and the two-leg series ended with a total score of 5-2.
Miami entered the night in a tough battle. They had to overcome a deficit away from home after conceding two late goals at home after falling a man last week.
Goalkeeper Drake Callender made a big mistake while trying to shoot from the back, setting up Monterrey forward Brandon Vazquez for a first-half goal. Monterrey opened the game in the second half with goals from Germán Berterame and Jesus Gallardo in the 58th and 64th minutes.
deeper
Patrick Schulte leads Crew into CONCACAF semifinals
The result means MLS will have just one team reach the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Championship: Columbus Crew, who beat Tigres in a penalty shootout on Tuesday night. The winner of the Champions League will qualify for next summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.
Despite starting four star players — Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba — Miami looked outmatched for much of the game. Monterrey was defeated by a stronger lineup from top to bottom.
“I don’t want to make excuses, I don’t want to come here and say that’s why we’re out, but I think if you look at the two benches you’ll get a good idea of what it’s like.” Midfielder Julian Gressel said. “I hope MLS can take the right steps in the future and be able to have deeper squads so you can have more comparisons and make more of a push for the game.”
The defeat continues MLS’s historic struggles in the championship. Only one MLS team has won the tournament, the Seattle Sounders in 2022, and this year marks the fourth time in six years that MLS has only one semifinal team.
Now, Messi and Inter Miami’s only chance at the Club World Cup next year may be to win the 2024 MLS Cup. Major League Soccer will receive the final bid to host the World Cup, and while FIFA has yet to announce how it will decide on that spot, winning the league title is the most likely.
BBVA Stadium rocks during Monterey Rolling
BBVA Stadium is one of the crown jewels of North American soccer, nestled in the valley of the Sierra Madre Oriental. The atmosphere on Wednesday was almost certainly a factor in Miami’s defeat, even though they didn’t need much help. The Monterrey fans were sold out the entire game and the noise was deafening.
In Mexico, Messi is not as universally adored as he is in other parts of the world. Messi’s shirt was barely visible and he was booed mercilessly throughout the game. Miami head coach Tata Martino – who led Mexico to an early exit from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – was met with even greater derision when he announced his hiring before the game.
By the time the final whistle sounded, the crowd was chanting “Messi se la come” (Messi can eat it) for the first time. The second one was less creative: they just started chanting Cristiano Ronaldo’s name over and over again. Simple but effective.
“Honestly, we were ready,” Miami midfielder Julian Gressel said after the game. “It’s a beautiful atmosphere, great stadium, great fans, against a good team, those are the nights you want to play. It’s an away game and that’s what you expect.”
There is nothing better than this type of environment in an MLS. That’s why playing in Mexico has always been so difficult for MLS teams. The sheer size of BBVA Stadium is evident. The crowd was loud and the noise was intimidating. One touch and they’ll get into your head. Drake Callender found that out the hard way. – Pablo Maurer and Felipe Cardenas
Callender’s first-half turnover put Miami further behind (Alfredo Lopez/Jam Media/Getty Images)
Callender’s turnover puts Miami in a bad spot
Mexico’s MLS side needed a good result to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League two days in a row after the goalkeeper made critical errors while trying to attack from the back, resulting in a goal and a deficit.
On Tuesday night, it was Columbus goalie Patrick Schulte. He made two saves in the penalty shootout to lead the team to victory.
On Wednesday night, it was Drake Callender.
Brandon Vazquez scores for Rayados 1-0! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/uvDgLk8TlN
— CONCACAF Champions League (@TheChampions) April 11, 2024
The goal may have frustrated Inter Miami in the first half, but it didn’t directly end their chances on the night. Trailing 2-1 in the second leg, Inter Miami needs at least two goals if they want to win the home series.
But Callender’s mistake came just six minutes after Inter Miami’s best combination was playing inside and outside the Monterrey penalty area, with Messi’s shot going just over the crossbar. Inter took some time to recover from the shock of the goal, although they had a couple of good looks towards the end of the first half.
However, the mistake proved fatal when Monterrey found the second goal in the 58th minute. ——Paul Tenorio
Beltrame’s long-range shot separated the two sides (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Beltrame’s rocket puts it out of reach
As Ole’s voice echoed around the pitch, there was a feeling that Monterrey’s second goal was coming, with Inter Miami unable to keep the ball and they were stretched thin in search of an equalizer.
All of these factors contributed to Beltrame’s thunderous goal in the 58th minute to make it 2-0 and all but officially put the game away for Miami.
After a miscue by Miami left back Noah Allen left right back Chelo Weigante stranded up front, the ball was passed to the burly Argentinian center in ample space at the top of the Inter Miami penalty area. Beltrame struggled for clean touches for much of the game, but this time he made no mistakes.
Great goal from Beltrame of Germany! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/MYlC0XqO3o
— CONCACAF Champions League (@TheChampions) April 11, 2024
His goal gave a glimpse into why the Portland Timbers pushed to sign him for $15 million in January. Monterrey is the clear winner in this scenario. ——Felipe Cardenas
Differences in Lineup Construction
Inter Miami has four legends in its starting lineup, but Monterrey proved over two legs that this is the better team from top to bottom. Whether playing home or away, this Mexican Serie A team was sharper and more united in almost every aspect, breaking through Miami’s press with ease the minute the game happened and taking advantage of opportunities when the back four opened up.
Inter Miami clearly needed to make adjustments, but Martino opted to go with zero substitutes during the game – a sign, he said after the game, of a young bench full of inexperienced players.
“The team that advances in the Champions League is the team with the best lineup in Mexican football,” Martino said after the game. “I mentioned recently that until Major League Soccer relaxes a lot of the (roster) rules to build stronger teams, where player absences, injuries, suspensions are not that difficult to overcome, obviously (the Mexican League) is going to have an advantage.”
Columbus Crew are MLS’s last hope of overcoming this deficit. ——Alexander Abnos
(Photo: Azar Rodriguez/Getty Images)
