Inter Miami held a scoreless draw in their recent match against Nashville SC for the first time since Lionel Messi arrived at the club. Fans have come forward to criticize the Inter Miami star after he failed to get his name on the scoresheet.
Lionel Messi had several opportunities in the match to score through a freekick. However, he failed to recreate the same magic as he had done in his past matches with the MLS side.
One fan shared their thoughts on the match as they wrote, “They gonna say Nashville parked the bus.” Another fan accused the MLS of being rigged, as they shared, “I speak for all Messi fans this MLS league is rigged.”
Inter Miami are held scoreless for the first time with Messi and tie Nashville ⚖️ pic.twitter.com/KmPLl77GPU
— 433 (@433) August 31, 2023
Another fan echoed the same sentiments as they wrote, “Scriptwriters were asleep?” One fan even joked about the Nashville coach being Cristiano Ronaldo. They joked, “I heard the Nashville coach is a Ronaldo fan so he didn’t allow them to manipulate him.”
The World Cup winner has scored 11 goals and provided three assists in his nine appearances for Inter Miami since joining them from Ligue 1 club PSG this July.
The Florida side would have preferred to continue their solid win record since Messi arrived at the club; however, they had to settle for the points being shared in the race to the playoffs for the MLS Eastern Conference.
Did Lionel Messi’s injury play a role in Inter Miami’s goalless draw with Nashville SC?
Lionel Messi had reportedly picked up an injury ahead of Miami’s clash against Nashville, which had the fans concerned. However, by the looks of it, the extent of the injury was not that serious. The former PSG star, despite failing to score a goal or provide an assist, played until the final whistle of the game.
It is safe to assume that the injury played no major role in the match, as he played the whole duration of the match. Inter Miami coach Tata Martino, however, shared another reason behind their disheartening results.
10 games unbeaten run for Inter Miami since Messi joined. Immense Messi!
P.s: today’s draw is partly on Tata Martino pic.twitter.com/7KaGhEsWLK
— 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒⚡ (@adewalegangan) August 31, 2023
Martino shared, “I’ve been with the team for two months, but it’s really been only 50-52 days of actually working with the team. We still haven’t had a full week working with them. Playing every four days hasn’t allowed us enough time to train and really build this group.”
The manager made it a point to move forward from the game, as hiccups as such are expected in a season. Lionel Messi’s side, however, would not be getting the much-deserved break as they would be facing LAFC on the weekend in the MLS.