SUMMARY
- The much anticipated Al-Nassr vs. Inter Miami ended 6-0 in the favor of Cristiano's club although he didn't play.
- The decision to play Messi in various matches was criticized for potentially compromising his health and performance.
Soccer fans around the world waited eagerly for the epic face-off between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. It was officially announced in the latter part of the year 2023 that both clubs would play against each other in the Riyadh Season Cup in February 2024. Since then the expectations among the soccer hierarchy have been quite high.
However, fans did suffer a major blow. It was when they came to know that Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn’t be taking part in the much-anticipated clash between Al-Nassr and Inter Miami on February 1 due to injury worries. It was later rumored that Messi might also not play the full 90 minutes of the match.
๐จOFFICIAL: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr will face Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the Riyadh Season Cup on February 2024. pic.twitter.com/melcbclFhq
โ CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) November 21, 2023
However, Lionel Messi did come on the pitch in the closing stages of the game. But his presence didn’t make much of a difference. The damage was done before his arrival. Inter Miami suffered a horrendous defeat at the hands of Al-Nassr. The MLS side appeared out of ideas for the majority of the match. Their defense crumbled horribly against Al-Nassr’s attack.
Soccer expert Luis Miguel Echegaray analyzes the worries for Inter Miami amidst Al-Nassr thrashing
ESPN FC’s soccer expert Luis Miguel Echegaray inflicted his opinion on the worries for Inter Miami after their shocking defeat to Al-Nassr. Luis asserted, “I think the main components of what’s going on today right now with Inter Miami and the biggest problem that I said from the day one was that when you have someone like Messi it’s clear that you want to market his potential from a global standpoint”.
Luis further pressed upon the point of Inter Miami’s next lined-up tours to Hong Kong and Japan. He inflicted that the MLS club “want to take advantage of the Messi name”. The ESPN presenter was further of the opinion that the club “playing a 36-year-old” player like Messi in so many matches in recent times has resulted in Leo not being able to fully participate against Al-Nassr.
Leo came on the pitch during the closing stages of the match due to contractual reasons. On this decision by the club, Luis stated – “you’re risking the health and the potential of your biggest star by none for the season only because of his marketing prospects”. It can be inferred from the statements of Luis that Inter Miami’s looseness in utilizing Leo’s potential adequately might hurt them in the long run.
Al-Nassr vs. Inter Miami: as it happened
In the opening five minutes of the match, Al-Nassr’s player Otavio gave his side an early lead by scoring a crucial early goal. However, the Saudi Pro League side didn’t stop there. They further scored another goal in the 10th minute of the game through the midfielder Talisca.
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐คฏ pic.twitter.com/6VujbhcS5L
โ 433 (@433) February 1, 2024
Inter Miami seemed shell-shocked by things panned out for them just 10 minutes into the match. Their defense looked utterly shaky and became one of the main reasons for their downfall. Defender Aymeric Laporte netted the third goal for Al-Nassr just after two minutes of the second goal. By this time it looked like it was all damage control for Inter Miami from now on.
However, the MLS side crumbled further as Talisca’s 51st-minute penalty, and Mohammed Maran’s 68th-minute goal saw the scoreline 5-0 in favor of the Saudi side. It wasn’t over even then, as Al-Nassr’s Talisca completed his hattrick and brought the score to 6-0. Inter Miami’s miserable performance in their comprehensive defeat against Al-Nassr does ring a few alarm bells for the MLS clubs’ hierarchy.