Eight-time Ballon d’Or award winner Lionel Messi's dream to “lift another title” shattered after Inter Miami lost to Atlanta United.
According to Mirror, Atlanta United stunned David Beckham’s club Inter Miami by 3-2 in the playoffs on Saturday, November 9, 2024, sending one of the tournament favorites home in the first round.
The thrilling match began with an early goal by Matías Rojas, who scored the first goal of the match for Miami in the 17th minute, but United player Jamal Thiaré took four minutes to turn the table and change the score from 1-0 to 1-2.
He first netted the ball in the 19th minute to level the score and then struck again in the 21st minute to give his team the lead.
Inter Miami star Messi once again leveled the score in the 56th minute to keep the winning hope alive, but midfielder Bartosz Slisz’s 76th-minute goal once again gave Atlanta United an edge and later a stunning victory.
Furthermore, the former Barcelona star previously, in an interview with Fabrizio Romano, expressed, “Hopefully we can win the MLS Cup and lift another title," he told soccer reporter Fabrizio Romano last month. "Not only on a personal level but especially for the club that did so much to make it happen.”
“It would be great to win it and keep the enthusiasm around our club," he added. "We want to keep helping this club grow. We want to make it one of the big clubs in MLS and, if possible, one of the big clubs in the world as well," he further added.
To note, Inter Miami recently won the Supporters Shield with the highest, 74 points in the history of MLS and qualified for the FIFA Club World Club 2025.
