Lionel Messi had never experienced this. The Argentinian played his first playoff match in the United States with the start of the MLS Cup. And it went well for Inter Miami, which won against Atlanta (2-1) in Game 1 of this series of the 1st round of the Eastern Conference.
The meeting started perfectly for the Floridians, with the goal of platinum blonde Luis Suarez (1-0, 2nd). But Lionel Messi failed to double the lead by stumbling twice against a goalkeeper older than him, veteran Brad Guzan (40), before finding the post (29th). Under the eyes of its owner David Beckham, Inter Miami was then surprised by Saba Lobjanidze’s equalizer (1-1, 39th).
Messi didn’t score, but that doesn’t matter
In the second half, the winning goal was scored by Jordi Alba, with an astonishing long shot (2-1, 60th), on a back pass from Messi. The Argentinian found Guzan’s gloves again in the process (72nd) and did not score. But it doesn’t matter: in this playoff format, only victory counts.
Everything is in fact played out in the best of three matches, and not in the back-and-forth format that we can experience in the Champions League. If Atlanta wins in the next match, regardless of the score, a support match will be played in Miami. There is no draw, since a penalty shootout is played in the event of a tie.
