Lionel Messi watched from the bench as 10-man Inter Miami held on for a 1-0 win over Charlotte FC in Main League Soccer on Sunday.
The Argentine was not utilized by coach Javier Mascherano in a sport the place Miami spent a lot of the sport on the again foot after goalkeeper Oscar Ustari was despatched off within the thirty eighth minute.
It marked the third straight sport that Messi did not characteristic for Miami after he didn’t journey to Houston for final week’s 4-1 win in MLS after which watched the 2-0 victory over Jamaica’s Cavalier within the CONCACAF Champions Cup first-leg sport on Thursday.
Mascherano has stated he’s managing the workload of the 37-year-old World Cup winner and whereas his absence has been a disappointment for followers, Miami haven’t paid a value on the sector.
Charlotte, coached by Englishman Dean Smith, the previous Aston Villa supervisor, have been the higher crew all through the encounter however proved unable to transform their plentiful possession into actual aim probabilities.
The guests provided early indicators of the place their threats lay, with Wilfried Zaha, the previous Crystal Palace winger, displaying flashes of his talent on the left flank whereas Israeli winger Liel Abada’s tempo was evident on the alternative wing.
Miami have been creating little, with Ashley Westwood dictating play within the centre of midfield for the North Carolina facet, and so they discovered themselves in bother when Ustari obtained a straight pink after he raced off his line and introduced down Zaha.
The groups went in goalless on the break however it took simply seconds for Miami to strike after the interval with a delightfully constructed aim.
Tadeo Allende back-heeled to Luis Suarez and the veteran returned the ball with a chip which the Argentine chested down after which buried into the underside nook.
It was the fourth aim this season, in all competitions for Allende who joined Miami on mortgage from Spanish membership Celta Vigo.
Miami opted to defend their lead, sitting deep and in numbers, irritating Charlotte who struggled to interrupt by way of their defence.
Their greatest probability got here within the sixty fifth minute when Zaha whipped in a depraved cross from the left however Patrick Agyemang’s glancing header flashed broad of the publish.
The group chanted for a Messi cameo, however Mascherano opted for defensive adjustments because the South Florida facet held agency to take care of their unbeaten begin to the season.
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