A nightmare to Saudi Arabia: Lionel Messi gets hurt, and Al Nassr beats Inter Miami 6-0.
Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo’s preseason game to Saudi Arabia was hailed around the world as a battle of the legends. But on Thursday, Inter Miami’s worst nightmare came true.
Messi sat on the bench for the first 82 seconds of the game against Al Nassr as a safety measure because he was sore from Monday’s loss to Al Hilal. The Saudi team beat Inter Miami 6-0, with three goals given up in the initial 12 minutes.
It wasn’t until the 83rd minute that the Argentine icon came on. During most of the game, Saudi fans at Kingdom Arena had been chanting his name. But Miami was already down and out before he came along.
A club source said Messi felt a twinge after Monday’s game and tried to train on Wednesday, but he was still slightly sore, so he got an MRI.
Based on the findings of the tests and how the Argentine star felt, the trainers and medical staff decided to give him a few days to rest as a safety measure.
Ronaldo watched the whole game from a suite because he hurt his calf last week, which is why Al Nassr had to cancel two games in China.
Two goals were scored by Mohammed Khalil Marran during the 68th minute and Aymeric Laporte in the 12th.
During the first half, TV cameras cut away to Ronaldo and Messi. The Portuguese star was smirking, while Messi, his Argentine rival, looked sad as his teammates struggled across the field.
Al Nassr’s Anderson Talisca scored three goals. He is from Brazil. In the 10th minute, he scored his first goal. He scored his second goal on a penalty kick in the 51st minute.
He scored his third goal in the 73rd minute. The Saudis’ first goal came from Otavio in the third minute.
There was more and harsher criticism of Al Nassr on social media every time he scored. Miami had only three shots on goal, while Al Nassr had 21 and Miami had 12.
However, Inter Miami boss Tata Martino was not available to the media. However, wingback Julian Gressel said that the coach appeared more animated than usual at halftime when Miami was down 3-0.
“No doubt, it wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but there are many lessons to be learned,” Gressel said.
“We can learn and grow from a lot of this. The coach made it clear that the team wants to perform at its best as the season starts.
We can watch a lot of things on film, but it all starts with how well we start the game. Before the game even starts, you can’t be down 3–0. “You learn things like that in the off-season.”
Martino said that the players would be extremely careful to limit players’ playing time during the five-country, seven-game preseason tour.
He also said that his main goal was to keep the club healthy and ready for the MLS season opener on February 21 at home against Salt Salt Lake.
“In the end, when it matters, we want to be at our best, and these games are valuable, even though they hurt a lot,” Gressel said.
When asked how hard it is for Inter Miami to play preliminary matches when they are under so much pressure, Gressel said, “I think it’s good that they play games like this to get ready for the season.”
When I played in the past in the preseason, I would sometimes wear training gear and play against additional MLS teams. These aren’t those games. The fact that these are real games is a good sign for us.
The team has three more preseason games left. On Monday, they play in Hong Kong, on Tuesday, they play in Tokyo, and on February 15, they host Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys, who are Messi and Martino’s hometown team.