March 11, 2024
Messi madness hits Montreal
Messi madness! International superstar Lionel Messi arrived in Montreal and was swarmed by soccer fans from the moment his plane landed until the moment it departed again.
The Argentinian striker has been lighting up the MLS since his arrival, and has had similar responses to the one he received in Montreal wherever Inter Miami have played this season. Coming into the game, Messi lead the league in scoring – and his mere presence overshadows another superstar on his team, Luis Suarez.
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Despite everything, it was CF Montreal that jumped to an early lead when Bryce Duke found the back of the net in the 22nd minute. That lead was doubled by Jules-Anthony Vilsaint ten minutes later as CF Montreal looked to have stunned Messi and company.
CF Montreal’s George Campbell earned a yellow card for a tackle on Messi a few minutes before the half, that crumpled the star and caused quite a stir. Firstly, there was concern over Messi’s left leg, that was extended to make a pass at the time of the tackle – then controversy over a new rule to the MLS that meant Messi had to stay off the pitch for two minutes following the injury. Although Messi had been able to walk off the pitch the be attended to by his trainers, he now had to wait for the next break in play to be able to rejoin the action; and that angered the Argentinian.
“With this kind of rule,” Messi said as the cameras captured his disgust, “we’re headed in the wrong direction.”
“With this rule change, there are situations that need to be reviewed,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said. “For me, the infraction was clear. It was a yellow card, and in the end, we were the ones who lost Leo for two minutes.”
Messi’s men can surging back late in opening half, to erase their two goal deficit and draw even – and it took them less than two minutes to do so. Matias Rojas scored in the 44th minute, and Luis Suárez showed his star power as he scored the equalizer in injury time, to draw Inter Miami and CF Montreal level heading into the break.
“Not being able to close out the first half mentally was a heartbreaker,” Montreal coach Laurent Courtois said.
The second half saw the continuation of what had transpired late in the first half, as Benjamin Cremaschi score in the 58th minute to put Inter Miami a goal up and complete the comeback.
The sold-out Stade Saputo was electric and the crowd was loud throughout the whole game – but they weren’t cheering for their home-town team. Instead, Montreal was alight with Messi mania, as the international superstar made his first appearance on Canadian soil. Coming into the game, Messi had scored in eight straight games leading up to this contest, and was the leagues leading scorer.
“Yeah, it was a good game,” said Courtois, adding “I understand the people cheering for Messi. For me as a head coach when I’m losing, hearing my stadium cheering the other guy when we’re losing, it’s tough.”
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Lionel Messi was able to finish the game and looked fine doing so – despite having an off-night where he didn’t manage any points, there is concern that he might have picked up an injury – and with Argentina’s hopes laying firmly upon his shoulders for the upcoming Copa America, perhaps some are holding their collective breath while they await further news.
Montreal will take on the Columbus Crew on May 15th at Stade Saputo where they will again attempt to stop their losing streak. Kick-off is at 7:30 PM EST.
