Lionel Messi and Inter Miami had another first during their historical summer together.
Instead, this one wasn’t as exciting despite a back-and-forth affair on the pitch on Wednesday night.
Messi was held scoreless for the second time as Inter Miami finished in a 0-0 draw against Nashville SC at DRV PNK Stadium in a rematch of their Leagues Cup final from Aug. 19.
“What we have to do is move on. This can happen,” coach Tata Martino said after Inter Miami failed to win its first game of the Messi era.
“It is true that we were a bit unaccustomed to this. The titles, the final, with a league game won the other day in New York, but we must move forward.“
Messi had several opportunities to score on free kicks, as he has done while scoring 11 goals in his previous nine games with the MLS club.
But he was unable to recreate the Messi Mania magic that has made Inter Miami so entertaining since his arrival and first game in July.
While Inter Miami has yet to lose a match, Inter Miami and Nashville settled for one point each in the MLS Eastern Conference playoff race after this match. But three points would’ve been preferred.
Inter Miami’s next game is against reigning league champion LAFC in Los Angeles on Sunday night. LAFC did not have a game Wednesday night and will be well-rested.
