Yahoo Sports Messi, Inter Miami one win from MLS history after beating Toronto 1-0 on Campana goal
Inter Miami will make MLS history with one more win after a Leo Campana goal in the 94th minute lifted the team to a 1-0 road victory against host Toronto FC on Saturday.
With the win, Miami remains on pace to break the MLS record for points in a season (73), which the New England Revolution set in 2021. Miami has 71 points (21 wins, eight ties, four losses) and can set a new mark with a win against New England in the home season finale Oct. 19.
Heading into Saturday’s match, the top playoff seed was already secured and the Supporters’ Shield was in hand, so Inter Miami coach Tata Martino left Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Drake Callender out of the starting lineup.
Messi and Busquets entered at the 60-minute mark to the delight of the packed BMO Field. “Messi! Messi! Messi!” they chanted, the moment the Argentine star started warming up. The volume and the fans’ cellphone cameras went up when he stepped on the field, replacing Robert Taylor. Busquets went in for David Ruiz.
Suarez and Yannick Bright came off the bench in the 70th minute.
Messi and Suarez, who have combined for 35 goals, did not score this time, but Suarez provided the assist to Campana, who scored the game-winner and was then engulfed by his jubilant teammates. Campana had passed the ball from the center of the box to Suarez on the left flank, who then lofted it back to Campana, who brought it down from his thigh and drilled it in with his left foot.
Martino said in the lead-up to the game that he would likely rest some players after a pair of tough matches over the previous seven days. Messi, 37, had played five games in a row after a long injury layoff and will be on national team duty with Argentina next week for World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela Oct. 10 and Bolivia Oct. 15.
“We made the decision on Friday to rest the players, it made sense after two full games that we make some rotations, and we had players ready to go,” Martino said. “We were able to complete our two objectives. One was to give players some rest and also to win the game because of what it means from a motivational standpoint to be in position to break the points record.”
Playing Messi for 30 minutes will keep him game sharp as he works his way back to peak form after missing two months with an ankle injury. He is one of five Inter Miami players called up by their national teams for the upcoming FIFA window, along with Campana (Ecuador), Diego Gomez (Paraguay), Ruiz (Honduras), and Benjamin Cremaschi (USA Under-20).
Campana wore the captain’s armband on Saturday, and has been in a good run of form the past few weeks, scoring three goals and getting the call-up from Ecuador for upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
“We saw Leo playing well, motivated, very happy with his selection to the national team,” Martino said. “We preferred to leave him on the field when Leo and Luis came in. It is rare that three can play together, but since a loss or a tie was the same for us, and we were going only for a victory, we left in three forwards and got the prize in the end.”
Martino also praised the Miami defense, with Noah Allen, Tomas Alives and Sergiy Kryvtsov in the back line and Oscar Ustari replacing Callender at goalkeeper. He felt Allen was the best player of the game and said the 38-year-old Ustari kept the team calm.
“We want to get the record, so [we are feeling] very positive,very happy to get the result and keep building on it,” Allen said. “We have one more game left and we’re going to go out there to win to get the record.”
Once the team returns from the FIFA break, Inter Miami has just one regular season game remaining, at home Oct. 19 against 14th-place New England Revolution.
Inter Miami kicks off the playoffs Oct. 25 at 8:30 p.m. at home against the winner of the Eastern Conference Wild Card play-in game. The first round is a best-of-three series and after that it is single-elimination. Miami has home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
In the 28-year history of the league, the Supporters’ Shield winner has gone on to win the MLS Cup title eight times. Los Angeles FC did it in 2022. Messi and his teammates are determined to become the ninth.
