With little of Messi, Inter Miami turned it around to CF Montreal in the MLS, the night Matías Rojas “stole” a free kick at 10

Inter Miami was the same as always: a defensively fragile team, but with a hierarchy from the midfield forward to reverse games that appear adverse. Many times His individuals save him when the collective does not work. And that was what happened this Saturday at the Saputo Stadium, where they beat the CF Montreal for a new date of the MLS and in Lionel Messi’s first match in Canada of the 1,059 he has played as a professional so far.

The local clung to the approach proposed by the French coach Laurent Courtois, who suffered the best Messi when he was a footballer for Levante in Spain between 2005 and 2008 and that is why he stopped his team in a low block. When those led by Tata Martino They recovered the ball, the Canadian team stood in their own half with a line of five defenders and four midfielders in front of them. And he was betting on the counterattack.

It gave him results, especially during the first half: Bryce Duke, a former Inter Miami, and Jules-Anthony Vinsaint They were scored on the scoreboard at 21 and 31 minutes of play respectively for an early 2-0. It was the sixth consecutive game in the American league in which those in pink suffered the first goal of the game and, as in five of the previous six, they managed to turn it around.

They suffered from the game, to the point that the former Boca Marcelo Weigandt and the Ukrainian Sergey Krivtsov got involved in a discussion in the middle of the game given the defensive imbalances they suffered, especially in that right sector. It looked like they were going to have a long and difficult night.

However, within a handful of minutes the tie came. What was said: It is more difficult for Inter Miami to play good football than to score goals. First, Matias Rojas He took advantage of the fact that, as established by the regulations, Messi had to leave the field two minutes after being treated for a hard kick that worried more than one and marked the discount with a great goal from a free kick at 43 minutes of the first half.

“If they put these types of rules, things are going bad, eh,” Leo was heard saying at the edge of the lime line as he waited to re-enter. Then he ended up celebrating the Paraguayan’s beautiful performance. Rojas had already shown signs of his great punch when he played for Racing and now he showed off again with a magnificent shot from the corner.

And at 47′ Luis Suarez He pushed the ball under the goal to tie the tie and become one of the tournament’s top scorers with 11 goals, the same as the Belgian Christian Benteke, from DC United, who scored a hat-trick in his team’s 3-2 victory against Atlanta United.

In the complement the match was evened. Messi scored goals in 31 countries and Canada could not – for now – be number 32. He did not have his best night, but he started the play for the goal of Benjamin Cremaschi for 3-2, with which Inter Miami consolidates itself as leader of the Eastern Conference. And he left with a smile.

And so he continues to walk behind his great goal, which is to win the first MLS in its history. Next Wednesday he will visit Orlando City, his classic in the state of Florida, in the call Rivalry Week or “week of rivalries.” A couple of months ago they played in Fort Lauderdale and Messi’s team won 5-0 with doubles from Leo and Suárez. Will history repeat itself?