Football: Lionel Messi and Miami eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Concacaf Champions League

Pour Lionel Messi, c’est déjà fini. MAXPPP – Miguel Sierra

L’Inter Miami de Lionel Messi et Luis Suarez a chuté face au club mexicain de Monterrey en quart de finale de la Ligue des champions de la Concacaf mercredi (5-2 sur l’ensemble des deux matchs).

The return of Messi as a starter, after an absence of around a month due to injury, was not enough: after losing 2-1 in Florida, Miami this time lost 3 -1 in Mexico.

Monterrey proved superior in all areas, and it was another Argentinian striker, Germán Berterame, who distinguished himself for the locals with a superb goal from’ rsquo;a distant strike. Miami ended its sad evening with ten players after the expulsion of Jordi Alba, another former Barcelona player.

The winner will go to the FIFA Club World Cup

The Concacaf Champions League is the premier regional club competition for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The winner this year qualifies for the new FIFA Club World Cup next year.

Mexican clubs have largely dominated the competition since its creation in 1962. "As long as the MLS does not relax its rules to allow teams to ;having larger squads and will not make it so difficult to replace players in the event of injury or suspension, Mexican teams will continue to have an advantage", Tata estimated Martino, the Miami coach, also taking refuge behind salary and budgetary restrictions in the United States.