• concacaf

Miami, US, Apr 3 (EFE).-

Injured Lionel Messi watched again from the stand as Inter Miami lost to Mexican club Rayados de Monterrey 1-2 in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Defender Tomas Aviles opened the scoring for Miami, who started with Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba but were stung by Robert Taylor’s injury problems and David Ruiz’s red card.

Taylor retired due to muscle problems and left room for Leo Alfonso, who was signed only a day earlier.

But the young striker could not make an impact on the game despite being involved in several attacks alongside Suarez.

Monterrey got a numerical advantage after David Ruiz’s red card in the 65th minute for a second bookable offense and they took control of the game immediately.

Three minutes after Miami turned into a 10-man side, Busquets made a defending error heading towards their own goal, trying to clear a corner kick.

Goalkeeper Drake Callender managed to take it out but lost his balance, leaving Maximiliano Meza to push the ball into the net and equalize.

However, Diego Gomez gave away the ball toward the end of the contest, allowing Jorge Rodríguez to score again for Monterrey.

Despite the loss, Miami coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino was not very unhappy.

“I liked the way we competed, I think we did a really good job, and that’s what I consider most important,” he said.

“I also think it was a learning opportunity for the club and our younger players, and facing that, we played up to the high standards of the match.”

Miami will now aim to turn the aggregate score around in the second leg when the teams meet in Monterrey in Mexico on Apr. 10. EFE

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