Lionel Messi: Lionel Messi and Co. at Inter Miami are set to face Philadelphia Union in the semi-final of the Leagues Cup. They have won each of their last 5 matches in the tournament. Messi has been crucial to every one of those wins. Hence, to progress to the final, especially winning against a powerhouse like Philadelphia, they will need Messi. There seemed to be an injury scare surrounding the Argentine which could have turned concerning. However, coach Gerardo Martino has downplayed the scare and assured fans.
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Inter Miami will face MLS Eastern Conference’s 3rd-placed team Philadelphia Union in the Leagues Cup semi-final. So far, Miami won 5 out of 5 matches in the Leagues Cup. They defeated the Liga MX giants Cruz Azul, 12th-placed Charlotte, 8th-placed FC Dallas, 5th-placed Orlando City, and 7th-placed Atlanta United. Miami struggled against all MLS Eastern Conference teams amongst these before Lionel Messi and his former Barcelona teammates arrived at the club. However, Philadelphia are the highest-ranked team they will be facing so far.
Hence, it is fair to say that Miami will be facing their toughest opponent on Wednesday. In the midst of this, Miami went through a scare regarding their current most important player Lionel Messi. During Monday morning’s training session, it looked like Messi tweaked his right ankle. However, as coach Gerardo Martino was asked about it, he assured the fans that there is nothing to worry about the World Cup winner. He downplayed the injury scare that could’ve seen them play without Messi against their toughest opponent so far.
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Coach Martino said, “I was only at a part of the session because I had a meeting afterwards and was finishing preparing, so I didn’t see exactly what happened. But if it was something serious, I’m sure everyone would have been shocked. Since everyone was fine, I imagine nothing happened.” Messi has scored 8 goals from 5 outings for Miami so far. It can be expected that he will again help them reach the finals. Hence, an injury now would have been fatal for Miami.
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