The Philadelphia Union and Inter Miami meet Saturday evening in South Florida in a clash for early-season Eastern Conference supremacy, and it will likely mark the return of Miami star Lionel Messi.
The 37-year-old Messi missed international duty with Argentina last weekend after sustaining an adductor injury a bit over an hour into Miami’s 2-1 win at Atlanta United on March 16.
He had joined team training activities with the Herons (3-0-1, 10 points).
“Leo is good,” head coach Javier Mascherano said. “If nothing weird happens, he will be named to the matchday roster.”
As for Philadelphia (4-1-0, 12 points), manager Bradley Carnell was trying to focus more on Miami’s overall track record rather than the exploits of one player. The Herons have won all three games this season across all competitions that Messi has missed.
“You can look at data, you can look at games, but when they’re in the game, they’re serial winners,” Carnell said. “They have a mentality in their group that they can step up to any game model, whatever you present to them.”
Even so, Messi gives Miami the extra element of being able to create goals almost no one else could, such as his opener in the win at Atlanta, a sly steal turned into a slick finish chipped over sliding goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
“That was a goal that only he could have scored, the best player in the history of the sport,” Mascherano said. “There is nothing else to say. He is a player who has the ability to produce the most beautiful goals one can ever see.”
Messi or not, Philadelphia will try to answer with one of the league’s most explosive attacks, led by Israeli forward Tai Baribo’s MLS-best six goals.
Baribo’s total is still higher than that of eight MLS teams entering the sixth week of the season. He failed to score for the first time in his last appearance for Philly, a 3-1 home defeat to Nashville SC on March 16, and was away on international duty in the Union’s 1-0 home win over St. Louis last Saturday.
Defender Ian Glavinovich scored Philadelphia’s goal against St. Louis. He previously played for Newell’s Old Boys, the Argentine club whose youth academy helped develop Messi.
–Field Level Media
