Lionel Messi said his farewell to the Argentine national team earlier this week when he played his final match for his country.
Messi’s next task will be to break Inter Miami out of their five-match winless skid in MLS league play when they host D.C. United on Saturday night.
Inter Miami (12-5-10, 46 points) sit in third place in the Eastern Conference despite being tied in points with New England, as the Revolution hold the tiebreaker with 14 wins so far. D.C. United (6-8-12, 30 points) are in 11th place and need a victory, as they are three points behind the final playoff spot in the conference.
Inter Miami won the Campeones Cup on Sept. 16 in their first match under recently hired coach Kily Gonzalez, but they’ve drawn with San Diego and lost 2-1 at Columbus last Sunday in two league matches since.
Messi has been stellar once again this season with 21 goals and 13 assists in league play as he chases his third consecutive MLS MVP award, but Miami will need more contributors as it has won only once in its last 10 league matches.
“Leo is a person who every day conveys it and passes it on to his teammates, and he demands from all of us that you have to be at 100% in every way,” Gonzalez said Friday.
Kimito Nono could be the spark that helps D.C. surge its way into the playoffs. Nono scored his first two MLS goals in D.C. United’s 3-3 draw at Vancouver on Sept. 26.
D.C. United are also looking to break a three-match winless streak and win their first match since Sept. 9.
D.C. lost its first match against Miami, 2-1, on March 7 in Baltimore in a game where Messi and Rodrigo De Paul each scored. Tai Baribo scored the lone goal in that match and continues to pace D.C. United with 14 goals in league play.
“They haven’t had the best results lately, so they have to show a reaction. There’s no option for them other than to win against us,” D.C. United coach Rene Weiler said. “We hope we can play a good game, and of course, we need the best performances from all our players, otherwise it will be more than just difficult.”
–Field Level Media
