In the defeat in the Leagues Cup final on Saturday night, Nashville SC’s approach to stopping Lionel Messi was more of a mentality: be yourself in front of a large audience. Even to accommodate the greatest player in history, the club didn’t want to alter its approach because it had been so successful up until that point.
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Anibal Godoy, a midfielder, said prior to kickoff that “I think everything is about confidence, trying to give the confidence, trying to believe in all the work [we’ve] done in the past couple games.” “We don’t need to change how we play all that much… We don’t need to modify [our identity] because it’s difficult. We risk having problems if we put too much emphasis on Messi, Busquets, Jordi Alba, and the rest of our outstanding players.
Nashville had to resort to a penalty shootout after a scoreless regular and overtime, which they ultimately lost 10-9. It continued to play with intense pressure in attempt to isolate the opposition’s midfield from the attack. Despite their best efforts, Godoy and his side were unable to stop the MLS rookie from scoring in the first half.
Messi took advantage of a stray ball that bounced outside the area after being shut down for the first 22 minutes and was forced to drop deep to receive the ball. Nashville’s center defender Walker Zimmerman eagerly ran forward in pursuit of the striker because he thought he would hurry his touch.
Messi took that as an opportunity to slip by him covertly. The next long-range shot was fired by a master with his legendary left foot, and no one was going to be able to block it. Messi scored for the sixth game in a row to continue his remarkable start to his American career. With 10, the 36-year-old ended the contest.
However, Nashville’s perseverance paid off in the 57th minute when Fafa Picault headed in a wild corner kick. After Messi hit the post in the 67th minute, Nashville nearly scored on a brilliant counterattack when Hany Mukhtar, the reigning MVP, found Sam Surridge. However, Surridge’s attempt was blocked by Drake Callender.
The home team had two final chances to grab the lead, but Leo Campana of Inter Miami broke free on the other end, almost breaking their hearts. Campana attempted to slant a sliding shot toward the goal and convert it into an open net, but the ball slipped just out of reach.
Messi converted a penalty kick in a tense shootout despite goalkeeper Callender diving into the goal to stop Elliot Panicco’s effort. He has more hardware awards than any other player in history with 44.
It’s easy to forget how bad things were at Inter Miami before Messi showed up. The club lost eight out of its last eleven games. Prior to the tournament, it had the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference.
The impact of Messi has altered how David Beckham’s business operates. The Argentine legend prefers Inter Miami’s warm reception to Paris Saint-Germain’s hostile one because Inter Miami has given him a better welcome.
Much happier and much calmer,” according to head coach Gerardo Martino. He is much calmer and happy, and you can see it on the field, so I won’t tell you. “His happiness has a lot to do with where he’s been,”
When Messi is calm, like he has been in MLS and the 2022 World Cup, he is almost impossible to stop. In the Leagues Cup semifinal, the Philadelphia Union’s structure broke down, making it impossible for them to contain him. There was just Nashville. In the end, that just wasn’t adequate.