On its first world tour, the North American team has played 6 matches so far. The MLS side Inter Miami achieved its first victory of the year even without the Argentine Lionel Messi. Inter Miami’s pre-season has not been encouraging at all. there were four defeats, one of them being a 6-0 defeat by Al-Nassr and a draw.
Inter Miami’s first win of the season
Final from Hong Kong Stadium ? pic.twitter.com/QFT5jH2VRC
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) February 4, 2024
The Miami team beat Hong Kong, a team made up of the best players in the local league, 4-1 this Sunday at the Chinese city’s national stadium. This was the first victory of the current season, even without star players Messi and Luis Suárez, who watched the entire game on the bench.
Almost at the end of the first half, Finn Robert Taylor, from Inter Miami, hit a beautiful shot from outside the area and opened the scoring for the visitors. Soon after, Henri Anier left everything the same.
At the beginning of the second half, Lawson Sunderland and Leonardo Campana expanded for the North American team. In the 39th minute, Ryan Sailor scored the team’s fourth with a header, giving the final numbers to the match.
Hong Kong fan fury goes viral
However, it wasn’t the first win of the season or even anything about the match that caught the eye. The fans who decided to go to the game did not react well to the absence of Suárez, especially the best player in the world, Lionel Messi.
Chinese fans had already been highlighted at the end of last month when they were surprised by the news of the cancellation of friendlies for Al-Nassr, a team of the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. Some even lost their patience and invaded the hotel where the Saudi team was staying.
In last Sunday’s match, the stars even went to the match but were only on the bench, which once again irritated the fans. Many booed the teams, and some asked for refunds. But the image of the moment is of a fan who, in his maximum moment of anger, ended up kicking a promotional image of Lionel Messi in the head.
Didn’t last long ? pic.twitter.com/cDysYCrtTZ
— Mark Thomas ? (@markhamspon) February 4, 2024
Where are Messi and Suárez?
In a press conference, Gerardo Martino, coach of Inter Miami, explained that Lionel Messi and Luís Suárez were injured and, therefore, did not take to the field in the 4-1 defeat against the Hong Kong All-Stars this Sunday (4).
“Leo (Messi) has inflammation in his adductor and we are dealing with it on a daily basis. We always hope that it can evolve appropriately. The medical team said it was too risky (for him to play). In the case of Luis (Suárez) the problem is with his knee”, said Martino.
“We understand people’s disappointment at not seeing Messi and Suárez on the pitch. But we run the risk of aggravating the injury and that’s why we made this decision with the medical team”, added the coach.
Inter Miami still has two more preparation games before the start of the current MLS season, even without its main players confirmed. Next Wednesday, the team faces Vissel Kobe at 7 am at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. On February 15, the opponent will be Newell’s Old Boys, the club that revealed Messi at DRV PNK in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.