Two competitions down, two to go. Following elimination from the Champions Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have returned to MLS play — they meet the Revolution at Gillette Stadium Wednesday — and, later this month, will enter the Leagues Cup.
Miami is staying busy. After a slow start, Messi & Co. looked sharp in taking a 4-1 win over Montreal before a crowd of 19,619 at Saputo Stadium on Saturday. This was the first of what could be as many as 16 games in two months for Miami, and it might have been a good time to take a breather. But Messi, along with former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suárez, stayed in for the duration, raising questions about their availability against the Revolution.
Not that some packed-down artificial turf should discourage Messi, who has played in 25 of Miami’s 29 games (going 90 minutes in all but two), along with two appearances for Argentina in World Cup qualifiers. But coach Javier Mascherano’s ability to manage playing time is being tested, as Miami (9-3-5, 32 points) stands sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Last season, Miami set a regular-season points record (74), snapping the Revolution’s mark with a 6-2 victory over New England in the final game of the regular season. But Messi missed 15 games because of physical problems, and Miami fell short in the playoffs, plus the Champions Cup and Leagues Cup, as coach Tata Martino departed. So far, Mascherano’s team has followed a similar script, a 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup on June 29 exposing vulnerabilities.
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“Clearly, we have a lot of games coming up, plus all the ones we have already played, so we will need everyone to participate,” Mascherano said Saturday. “We’ll see how we can manage some roster changes without feeling it too much because I don’t like to change six or seven players from one match to the other.
“Our motivation now is to compete in our league, and to achieve something this club has been aiming for year after year. We want to get as far as we can, qualify for the playoffs, be in position to have home-field advantage, and from there we’ll see what happens at the end of October.”
For the Revolution (6-7-6, 24 points) — outscored, 10-3, by Miami last year — this match could provide a gauge of their improvement. In both games, the Revolution collapsed after strong starts: Tomás Chancalay opened the scoring in the first minute of a 4-1 home loss; and Luca Langoni (second minute) and Dylan Borrero (34th) gave the Revolution a two-goal lead in the season-ender.
Since then, the Revolution have lost by more than one goal only once, but they have been limited by injuries and a lack of forward production. Captain Carles Gil and striker Leo Campana, acquired from Inter Miami, have not combined over 90 minutes in successive games since opening the season. Campana, recovering from a hamstring injury, went the distance in a 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers on Saturday, providing a physical presence and getting off four shots. And Campana’s sliding misfire off a Peyton Miller cross nearly gave the Revolution a late first-half lead.
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“We had a golden chance; we need to score those,” coach Caleb Porter said. “I’m confident we will.”
Porter placed much of his goal-scoring faith in Campana, an Ecuador national team member who totaled 28 goals in three seasons with Miami — including a hat trick in a 3-2 win over the Revolution in 2022. But injuries have limited Campana, along with Chancalay (groin) and Ignatius Ganago (quadriceps). Gil (seven goals) leads the Revolution in scoring, equaling the total of forwards Campana, Chancalay, and Maxi Urruti (two each), plus Ganago (one).
As for Messi, this could be his third Gillette appearance, following 4-1 victories last year, when he converted twice for Miami before 65,612, and in 2016, when he scored once on an imported grass field for Argentina against Venezuela (59,183) at Copa America Centerario.
“We have to understand that Leo is happy playing soccer and whenever he is fit to play, he will play, because he is happiest on the field,” Mascherano said.
Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at [email protected].