Inter Miami (with Messi) loses 1-0 to Charlotte, ends season on seven-game winless run
Lionel Messi returned to the Inter Miami starting lineup for the first time in a month Saturday night, and a crowd of 66,101 showed up at Bank of America Stadium to get an up-close look at the Argentine star in the season finale between Inter Miami and Charlotte FC.
Miami, with its highly publicized star-studded lineup, was out of playoff contention, eager to play spoiler on the road and end the season on a winning note. But it was Charlotte players, coaches and fans who were celebrating after the two-year-old franchise clinched a spot in the MLS playoffs with a 1-0 victory.
Despite the world’s best player on its roster and a summer overhaul with a new coach and six new high-priced players, Inter Miami ended the season without a win in the final seven games.
Miami finished in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, second from last, with a 9-18-7 record and 34 points. Last year, the team advanced to the playoffs with a sixth-place finish, 14 wins and 48 points.
Coach Tata Martino lamented in his postgame remarks that his team was unable to sustain the spectacular form it had upon Messi’s arrival, when Miami went on a 12-game unbeaten run to win the Leagues Cup trophy and reach the final of the U.S. Open Cup.
Messi scored 11 goals during that stretch. Miami was averaging three goals and was rolling through MLS competition. Miami beat Atlanta 4-0, Orlando 3-1, beat Dallas on the road in a penalty kick shootout, shut out Charlotte 4-0 in the quarterfinals, beat Philadelphia 4-1 on the road in the semifinals and won the championship on the road over Nashville in penalty kicks.
“We suffered a decline at the end of the season due to exhaustion from the number of matches we had to play, which is not an excuse, but the reality,” Martino said. “We had many competitions, a change of coach and roster changes in the middle of those competitions, and it was difficult to maintain the same form over four months.
“But if someone had told me before I signed here that we would win one of the three trophies, I would have signed with my eyes closed.”
The coach said he used the final few matches of the season to begin making plans for the 2024 season, and one big decision clearly has already been made.
When asked why Venezuelan forward Josef Martinez, the team’s highest-paid player before Messi’s arrival, did not travel for the game, the coach explained: “Josef didn’t travel because it would be very difficult for him to continue with our club next season. We spoke, and the most prudent decision was for him not to travel for this last game and not take a totally unnecessary risk.”
He added that Martinez will not travel with the team for a pair of friendlies in China next month.
Dressed in black instead of pink for the first time since Messi joined the team in July, Miami for the first half of Saturday’s game did not resemble the team that dominated MLS headlines all summer during its Leagues Cup run.
Messi was hardly involved early on as Inter Miami looked disjointed and a bit flat. Martino made positional adjustments at halftime, moving Gregore to the left and Benjamin Cremaschi to the right, which helped ball circulation. The team was able to put together more passing sequences in the second half and had a few good scoring opportunities.
“When we do that, we can be a dangerous team,” Martino said. “The first half we had trouble with that.”
Charlotte, which needed a victory and help from two other teams to clinch a playoff spot, took the lead in the 13th minute on a left-footed volley to the far post by Colombian Kerwin Vargas, his second goal against Miami in less than a week. Vargas celebrated with his trademark back flip and the Charlotte crowd erupted.
Messi appeared to score the equalizer after breaking free and lobbing a shot over goalkeeper Kristijian Kahlina, but the goal was nullified for offsides. Messi had another shot blocked a few minutes later.
Leo Campana nearly tied the score in the final minute, but Kahlina made a great diving save off his fingertips to keep Charlotte in the lead. Two more attempts by Diego Gomez and Dixon Arroyo in added time were also saved and the home team hung on.
Joining Messi in the Miami starting lineup were Campana, Gomez, Cremaschi, Sergio Busquets, Gregore, Noah Allen, Kamal Miller, Tomas Aviles, DeAndre Yedlin and C.J. Dos Santos, making his debut at goalkeeper in place of Drake Callender, who rested after starting every game dating to the middle of last season.
Gregore, the Brazilian midfielder and team captain, was making his second start in a row after missing seven months with a foot injury.
In addition to Martinez, missing from the Miami game roster were Robert Taylor (quad contusion) and Sergiy Kryvtsov (leg injury).
Inter Miami players will have a week off and then return to training for a China tour that includes friendly matches against Qingdao Hainiu FC on Nov. 5 and Chengdu Rongcheng on Nov. 8.
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 9:43 PM.