Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami are facing Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and fans expect to see more of the Argentine star after he returned to action last Saturday. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner helped Miami secure a 3-1 victory against Philadelphia Union in their last match.
While Messi admitted he was “tired” after the match, he is expected to play today. However, he will start the match on the bench. Martino confirmed on Tuesday to the press that the captain was “fine” and finished the game “well.”
“It’s the first 90 minutes in a long time, but it ended very well. He is going to travel to both games. He is available but there are three games this week with travel included, so we have to see it day by day,” the head coach explained.
Messi scored a brace and provided an assist against Philadelphia, marking his first match since the July 14 Copa América final, where he sustained a right ankle ligament injury. With Miami also set to visit New York on Saturday, Messi might rest for one of the games.
Tata Martino (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
“We didn’t replace him (Messi) individually because individually they cannot be replaced, but we have tried to ensure that collectively the team acquires a physiognomy that makes it reliable and I think that within what we have done it seems to me that it turned out quite well,” explained Martino about Messi.
Busquets is suspended for the match
Against Atlanta, Martino will need to make some changes as Sergio Busquets and Tomás Avilés are suspended for yellow cards, and Noah Allen is in concussion protocol. However, the rest of the team is available.
The starting line-up of Miami vs Atlanta
The starting lineup without Messi and Suarez is: Drake Callender; Ian Fray, Sergiy Kryvstov, Franco Negri; Marcelo Weigandt, Yannick Bright, Benjamin Cremaschi, David Ruiz; Julian Gressel, Leo Campana, Robert Taylor.
The players on the bench are: Messi, Luis Suarez, Ryan Sailor, Jordi Alba, Oscar Ustari, and Federico Redondo.
