Inter Miami aim to keep win streak alive at Montreal
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates take their high-priced show to Canada this weekend for a Saturday night road game against CF Montreal, a match that has fans paying an average of $465 for tickets.
Coming off a mesmerizing Messi performance and Luis Suarez hat trick in a 6-2 rout of the New York Red Bulls, Inter Miami is highly motivated to continue padding its Eastern Conference lead and avenge an early season loss to Montreal, one of just two losses this season. Messi did not play in that game, and Suarez and Sergio Busquets were late-game subs.
Behind the play of Messi and Suarez, Inter Miami has the best record in MLS with 24 points through 12 games and leads the league with 32 goals scored this season, 11 more than the nextclosest team (L.A. Galaxy). The men in pink have outscored their past three opponents 13-4.
Montreal, meanwhile, which started the season strong, is headed in the opposite direction with just one win in its past seven games. A 4-1 loss to Nashville last week was a low point.
“The last few weeks for us have been very good and the last few weeks for them have not been as good as when they started the season,” said Inter Miami midfielder Julian Gressel. “In that game we rotated a lot, were not at the strength we are now. They took three points from us at home here [in Fort Lauderdale], and now we want to take three points from them there to return the favor and have a little bit of revenge like we did last week against the Red Bulls.”
Once again, a sellout crowd is expected, which is no surprise.
“To see the masses come alive whenever we show up is a cool thing,” Gressel said. “It was special in Kansas City. It was special in New England. It’s really special everywhere we go, and Montreal probably won’t be much different… There’s some games that are a bit strange, like In D.C. and New England, I felt like the crowd was pretty much pro-us, and pro-Messi, obviously.”
Messi is the main attraction wherever he goes, with good reason.
The Argentine legend is on pace to shatter the MLS single-season record for goals and assists.
He leads the league with 22 goal contributions, including 10 goals and 12 assists, through his first eight games this year. He had one goal and five assists against the Red Bulls.
No player in MLS history has reached 25 goal contributions in fewer than 16 games during a single season, a record held by Carlos Vela during his
MVP campaign with LAFC in 2019.
With three contributions — a mark he has reached in each of his last three MLS matches — against Montreal on Saturday, Messi would reach 25 contributions in nine games.
Miami coach Tata Martino suggested that he will likely play a similar lineup Saturday to the one he used against New York. One change will be at center back, where Tomas Aviles will serve a suspension after accumulating his fifth yellow card.
“Now that things are
going well, we are having good results, we don’t have pressure to make roster changes,” Martino said.
Left back Jordi Alba returned to training this week after missing three games with a hamstring injury, but Martino said he is not quite ready to play, so they will hold him out one more game.
Diego Gomez (ankle) and Federico Redondo (knee) are still out. Ian Frey, like Alba, trained with the team this week, but is not yet ready for a game.
Montreal, under firstyear coach Laurent Courtois, is dealing with injuries to key attackers Matías Cóccaro and former Inter Miami striker Josef Martínez, who are both out with
knee injuries. Forward Kwadwo Opoku (ankle) and Dominic Yankov (hamstring) are also missing the game.
Among the Montreal players to watch are former Inter Miami midfielders Ariel Lassiter and Bryce Duke.
HOW TO WATCH
Inter Miami vs. CF Montreal kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Stade Saputo and will be broadcast on Apple TV through the MLS Season Pass.
MARTINO ON DI MARIA RUMORS
The latest famous player rumored to be talking to Inter Miami about a move is Argentine winger Angel DiMaria, who plays for
Benfica in Portugal. Martino praised DiMaria but dismissed the reports.
“I hear all the comments, and I repeat once more, I don’t have to address his qualities as a player, everyone knows, but there’s almost two months until the transfer window opens again and it’s hard for me to see how Inter Miami could sign him,” Martino said.
“Very special circumstances would have to arise. We already have a squad that fits within the budget required by the MLS. We don’t have any way of bringing Angel or any other star player until they change the rules. It seems to me it would be difficult for him to come. Right now we are not focused on bringing in any new players.”
MOTHER’S DAY GREETING FROM GRESSEL
“Happy Mother’s Day to my wife, to my Mom, and all the Moms out there,” said Gressel, whose mother lives in Germany, where they also celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday. “My Mom was incredibly influential in my career from the start. In the beginning it was her driving me and my brothers to training. It was a lot for her, while also working. So, I certainly appreciate and understand how much of a sacrifice it was for her to make. It’s a special day to celebrate Moms, but honestly, we should celebrate them every day.”