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Messi’s Inter Miami Knocked Out Of MLS Cup

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami were recently knocked out of the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup by Atlanta United. The MLS Cup is one of the most highly anticipated events in American football and serves as the culmination of the league’s season, bringing together the best teams to compete for the title. Inter Miami ended on the top of the Eastern Conference, ending the season ahead of Columbus Crew by a margin of eight points. Messi fans from all around the world were excited to see how his side would do in the MLS Cup, but it did not go according to plan.

Atlanta Knock Out Inter Miami

Credit: CNN

The Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup follows a very unique format. Similar to the 2023 edition, it consists of eighteen teams, the top nine from each conference, with the top seven automatically qualifying for the first round, while the eighth and ninth-placed teams in each conference contested a single wild card match to qualify. Round one will comprise a best-of-three format, with higher seeds playing against lower seeds. The round does not have the aggregate score kept, and tied matches proceed directly to a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.

The remaining three rounds, which are the conference semifinals, conference final, and MLS Cup, are single-elimination matches played with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if still tied. The team with the better regular season record hosts the match in all rounds except for the best-of-three series in round one, where the lower seed hosts the second of three possible matches. As Inter Miami finished at the top of the Eastern Conference table, they faced Atlanta United, the 9th-placed team. It seemed like they would win the matchup and easily move to the next round, but it did not pan out that way.

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The first game took place at Inter Miami’s home ground, the Chase Stadium. Luis Suarez scored for Inter Miami almost instantly, giving them the lead in the second minute of the competition. They kept dominating Atlanta United but could not double their lead, so Atlanta took advantage of this opportunity to make them pay. Saba Lobzhanidze scored an equaliser in the 39th minute to re-instill hope in Atlanta United fans. Despite this, Miami kept dominating, and it finally paid off when Jordi Alba scored the winner in the 60th minute. This gave Inter Miami a 1-0 overall lead in the fixture.

The second game was played at Atlanta United’s home stadium, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It seemed like this match was also going in the same direction as David Martinez scored the opener in the 40th minute to give Inter Miami a 1-0 lead. However, Atlanta United decided to fight back in the second half, and Derrick Williams scored an equaliser in the 58th minute. It looked like the match was about to go to penalties, but Xande Silva scored a very late winner in the fourth minute of extra time to make the overall score 1-1 and send the matchup into a third final game.

Here’s how Xande Silva scores a late minute winner as ATL keeps the game series alive. YOU’RE THE HERO!!!😩🖤❤️

🇺🇸Inter Miami vs Atlanta United
Game Series: INT 1-1 ATL #MLS #AtlantaUnited #WeAreTheA #MIAATL

pic.twitter.com/dPAWAuXvJV

— David☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼 (@ThisIsDavid_WWE) November 9, 2024

The third game, like the first two, started in a very similar way. Inter Miami took the lead through a 17th-minute goal by Matias Rojas. However, Atlanta United responded back almost immediately. Jamal Thiare scored an equaliser in the 19th minute and scored again just two minutes later to give Atlanta United the lead. The game was slipping from Inter Miami’s fingers, but Lionel Messi scored a very important equaliser in the 65th minute to bring Miami back into the game. However, Atlanta took back the lead in the 76th minute thanks to a goal by Bartosz Silsz, and this time, Inter Miami could not respond, losing 2-1 to Atlanta United overall.

This 2-1 aggregate loss to Atlanta United means that Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami have been knocked out in the first round of the MLS Cup. While they were extremely dominating throughout the season, this just shows how unpredictable cup games can end up being. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will both be focused on getting over this loss, coming back even harder next season, and getting their hands on the MLS Cup trophy.

For more news and updates on Inter Miami, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram.

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