This is why Messi, others rested on Sunday and why Inter Miami lost 3-2 to Montreal

It was no secret that Lionel Messi and his ex-Barcelona teammates would take a break at some point during this jam-packed 2024 season, the only question was when.

It happened Sunday, and their absence was felt, as Inter Miami looked disjointed in the opening minutes, fell behind early and lost for the first time this year, 3-2 to CF Montreal.

Messi, who had played the full 90 minutes of the first four games, was not in uniform on Sunday. He was listed as questionable on the official MLS injury list Saturday, but coach Tata Martino confirmed after the game that Messi was held out so he could rest.

Inter Miami is in the middle of a four-game, 12-day stretch; and the Montreal game was sandwiched between the two legs of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 against Nashville SC. Miami salvaged a 2-2 tie in the first leg on the road last Thursday and the deciding home leg is Wednesday at Chase Stadium at 8:15 p.m.

Messi is expected to play against Nashville on Wednesday.

Asked how those decisions about Messi’s playing time are made, whether he requests to rest or whether the coaches propose that he take time off, Martino replied: “We discussed this about a week ago. We agreed that this was the game he should rest, independent of what happened in the game against Nashville.”

Messi was one of five starters from Wednesday who did not start Sunday.

Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets were on the bench for much of the game against Montreal, as were Diego Gomez and Nico Freire. Busquets entered the game in the 66^th minute, replacing newcomer Federico Redondo. Suarez came off the bench in the 77^th minute to replace Lawson Sunderland shortly after Leo Campana scored the equalizing goal.

Gomez and Freire came in at the 66-minute mark. The team was energized by the subs. Jordi Alba, the only one of the “Fantastic Four” ex-Barca players who started, scored in the 80^th minute off a Busquets pass to close the deficit to 3-2 after Montreal had a pair of goals in the span of two minutes to take a 3-1 lead.

“(The media) asked 10 days ago if I planned to rotate; we rotated,” said a terse Martino, when asked about the decision to rest the starters, and whether it meant they were prioritizing Champions Cup over the early-season league game.

Martino has been saying from the start of preseason that managing players’ minutes would be vital with potentially more than 50 games this year between the league schedule, Champions Cup, Leagues Cup and Copa America. He urged fans to understand that Messi and the other star players will have to take breaks now and then. And they did.

Inter Miami remains in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1-1 record, 10 goals scored and four allowed.

What we learned from Sunday’s game:

Messi Will Miss Games

A throng of fans camped out alongside a Chase Stadium parking lot barricade Sunday afternoon awaiting the Inter Miami team bus in hopes of catching a glimpse of Messi.

“El sueño de mi hijo es tomarse una foto contigo” (My son’s dream is to take a photo with you) said one large banner, which featured the Inter Miami logo and Argentine flag. The boy did not get his wish.

The starters were: Robert Taylor, Leo Campana, Lawson Sunderland, David Ruiz, Julian Gressel, Fede Redondo, Noah Allen, Sergiy Kryvtsov, Jordi Alba, Tomas Aviles, Drake Callender.

The bench was: Busquets, Suarez, CJ Dos Santos, Ryan Sailor, Diego Gomez, Nico Freire, Shanyder Borgelin, Israel Boatwright.

It is clear by the sea of pink Messi No. 10 shirts and Argentina No. 10 shirts that fans buy tickets expecting, or at least hoping, to see their idol. Most of the time he plays. He played 21 games last season, missed seven due to injury and one due to national team duty with Argentina.

He played the first four games this year, and never came out. But he is 36. It’s a long season. He is going to take breaks, as will his teammates.

Get used to it.

Set Piece Defense is a Concern

Fernando Alvarez took advantage of a disorganized Miami defense and scored a goal on a header in the 13^th minute. Miami center backs Sergiy Kryvtsov and Tomas Aviles were exposed on the play.

Matias Coccaro’s 75^th minute goal for Montreal was also on a set piece.

“Set pieces are our biggest weakness,” Kryvtsov said. “Again today, two goals from two set pieces. It is too much for our opponents.”

Martino added: “I thought we deserved to win the game. What concerns me is that we are a team that doesn’t defend with intensity in the important moments, be they in transition or on set pieces. We did not have a good start. The first 10 to 15 minutes were poor, and the truth is our opponent got two easy goals. It was a game we could have won and had enough (talent) to win.”

Martino also accused Montreal of time wasting late in the game, and felt the officials should have been stricter about that. “Before the season we had a one-hour conversation about the spirit of this league, and (Sunday) we did not see that spirit.”

Campana Remains a Threat

Campana, whose height and energy have proved valuable in the past, started for the first time this season and scored. He could have scored more, but at least he scored. It was his first goal of the season. He is five shy of Gonzalo Higuian’s club record of 29 goals.

“Obviously, it had been some time since I played 90 minutes, but I felt good,” he said. He added that he was playing through some pain after suffering a leg injury before the Nashville game.

Although Messi, Suarez and Busquets add world-class precision passing, field vision and decision making, Campana feels the substitutes are capable of winning games when the starters rest.

“Yes 100 percent, it is just about getting into a rhythm of games, giving confidence to the players that are having their first games with the team, and moving forward,” he said. “We know we have a great team and obviously we have to help the new guys that have come to also take on the responsibility so that we have a great season.”

Writer Franco Panizo contributed to this report.