Inter Miami player ratings against Atlanta United: Lionel Messi and teammates experience a humiliating playoff exit in MLS’ most significant upset.

Inter Miami player evaluations against Atlanta United: Lionel Messi and teammates experience a humiliating playoff exit in MLS’ most significant upset.Lionel Messi and top-seeded Inter Miami have unexpectedly been ousted from the 2024 MLS Playoffs in Game Three of Round One of their Best-of-Three series by Atlanta United. The Five Stripes triumphed over the Herons 3-2 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Saturday evening, achieving what could be regarded as the most remarkable upset in MLS history.

A brace from Senegalese attacker Jamal Thiare in the first half, together with a late winner from Bartosz Slisz in the 76th minute, ensured Atlanta’s progression to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where they will face Orlando City in the subsequent round. Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets, all former Barcelona luminaries, delivered a dramatic and impressive performance, while Inter Miami was unable to achieve a favourable outcome before their home supporters. Despite being the regular season

champions and securing the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield while establishing the MLS points record, Miami’s season has concluded in an unexpected turn of events. Remarkably, the Herons were outperformed throughout the encounter, despite Messi scoring a spectacular header. Atlanta dominated the first half, exhibiting an aggressive attacking style of football from the outset. Their initial genuine opportunity occurred in the 14th

minute, when Thiare’s close-range effort struck the post. Nevertheless, hardly three minutes later, a disruption in momentum occurred following a Herons’ counterattack. Following an early attempt by Messi, Atlanta custodian Brad Guzan deflected the ball, which fell directly to Matias Rojas, who expertly converted to secure Miami’s opening goal. However, as previously said, that was merely a temporary interruption in momentum. Immediately

following the resumption, Atlanta resumed their efforts and equalised just two minutes later with a goal from Thiare, who ultimately scored. Subsequently, not two minutes later, the Senegalese striker increased his goal count, granting the visiting team a 2-1 advantage just 21 minutes into the encounter. In the 27th minute, Miami believed they had equalised with a goal from Diego Gomez; however, the Paraguay international was ruled offside following a brief review. After entering halftime with a 2-1 advantage, Atlanta emerged

from the tunnel with renewed intensity; but, the Herons remained resilient. Miami achieved a breakthrough in the 65th minute when Messi executed a powerful header into the net, equalising at 2-2 following a cross from Marcelo Weigandt. Nonetheless, the deadlock persisted for only 11 minutes, at which point Atlanta delivered a decisive blow to the South Beach supporters. During a great counter-attack, Atlanta retained possession

following a brief flurry of activity in the box; however, during this sequence, Miami’s Tomas Aviles sustained an injury and collapsed in his own penalty area. Preoccupied with their teammate’s injury, the Herons were too engaged in imploring the referee to halt the contest to observe a remarkable cross delivered by Pedro Amador, which connected with the head of a sprinting Slisz, who forcefully struck the ball with his forehead. Game. Set. Victory. Miami advanced aggressively for the final 14 minutes, including stoppage time, but it proved insufficient.

The Five Stripes achieved the improbable by defeating the eight-time Ballon d’Or recipient and Miami, so eliminating them from the 2024 playoffs. The most astonishing surprise, the ultimate upset. GOAL evaluates the performance of Inter Miami’s players at Chase Stadium…