CF Montreal had nothing to envy of Inter Miami CF, but Lionel Messi and his gang had the upper hand by a score of 3-2, Saturday evening, at Saputo stadium.
A bit like he did against the Columbus Crew, the Bleu-blanc-noir showed that he can compete against the best teams in MLS when he plays at his best. However, he will have to continue to correct some of his shortcomings to obtain points on a more regular basis.
The Montrealers led 2-0 in the first half, but the Florida squad only had to capitalize on two set phases of play and a counter-attack to sign a fifth victory in a row.
Jules-Anthony Vilsaint scored a goal and an assist for CF Montreal (3-5-3), who suffered a first loss at home this season. Bryce Duke, against his former team, also shook things up.
Matias Rojas, Luis Suarez and Benjamin Cremaschi responded for Inter Miami CF (8-2-3), who remained undefeated in their last seven outings (5-0-2).
Messi was held off the scoresheet for the first time this MLS season, but he created several scoring chances. Nevertheless, his presence was once again the lucky charm for the Miami team, which has still not lost in 2024 when the 36-year-old Argentinian is in the starting lineup.
CF Montreal defeated Inter Miami CF 3-2 at Chase Stadium on March 10, but Messi did not play.
After playing a match midweek in the Canadian Championship, Laurent Courtois’ men will return to action quickly, on Wednesday evening. For the occasion, they will welcome the Crew, reigning MLS Cup champions.
The worst advance?
The atmosphere had already been excited during the warm-up and it continued at the start of the match.
Warmly applauded, Messi took no time before making his presence felt. In the third minute, the Argentinian made a superb touch of the ball before passing it to Julian Gressel, but Joel Waterman blocked the shot by sliding.
The star player of Inter Miami CF did it again, around fifteen minutes later, when he forced Waterman to commit a foul near the penalty area. Messi set up for the free kick and he missed the target by a few feet.
The game came alive during the 21e and 22e minutes. On the one hand, Waterman came to save the furniture following his change of heart. On the other hand, Vilsaint made a long run down the left flank and put the ball back to Duke, who beat goalkeeper Drake Callender between the legs.
CF Montreal did not appear intimidated against the best team in MLS and they continued to apply pressure, creating more scoring chances.
At the 29e minute, Callender needed to stretch out to stop a shot from Mathieu Choinière. A few minutes later, a succession of passes allowed Ariel Lassiter to find Vilsaint in the penalty area. The Quebecer moved the strings with a good curling shot.
Inter Miami doesn’t have the best attack in the league for nothing and they got going before returning to the locker room. First, on a free kick, Rojas put the ball into the top of the net, where few goalkeepers in the world could have pushed it away. Then, in stoppage time, Duke deflected a corner kick across the penalty area, where Suarez was waiting.
The tension rose to another level at the start of the second half and the Montrealers seemed a little more nervous. They were caught leaving Franco Negri behind the defense, but the latter was in an offside position. When the visitors did it again, in the 59the minute, Cremaschi calculated his race better and got the better of Lassiter to beat Jonathan Sirois.
CF Montreal did not give up and continued to attack to try to create equality. Inter Miami CF’s defense, however, did a good job of limiting the damage in the penalty area.
Gerardo Martino’s players also buzzed into enemy territory, but without success. At the end of the match, Messi managed to get rid of two players, but he came up against Sirois.