Inter Miami lost 1-6 to FC Cincinnati in MLS, with captain Lionel Messi absent due to attending Copa America with Argentina.

On the morning of July 7 (Vietnam time), Inter Miami suffered their biggest defeat in MLS 2024, when they were defeated by Cincinnati with a score of 6-1. A bad day for the pink team was pushed to the climax when star Sergio Busquets had to leave the field in the 62nd minute after receiving a red card.

This defeat also caused Inter Miami to be surpassed by Cincinnati to take the top spot in the MLS Eastern Conference standings, with 1 more point and still 1 match left to play.

Inter Miami lost miserably to Cincinnati (Photo: Getty).

Messi has not played for Inter Miami since June 2 due to Argentina’s call-up for the 2024 Copa America. Although the tournament is being held in the United States, MLS operations in the country have not been suspended while the tournament is taking place.

Luis Suarez was also in the Copa for Uruguay, as was Matias Rojas until Paraguay were eliminated in the group stage. Jordi Alba missed the game against Cincinnati, while Facundo Farias and Nicolas Freire were both sidelined with long-term injuries. The result handed Cincinnati a huge win.

Coach Tata Martino reflected after the match: “We had a vulnerable start to the season in defence, the whole team has started to fix that, the last five or six games we did a good job defending, but this game, it all came back to defending like we played at the start of the season.”

“Our opponents played better. The whole team must take this into account. Cincinnati is one of the top three teams in the league. We have not achieved that yet despite good results and performances. Inter Miami must continue to work and hope that in the final stages of the season, the team can improve with full strength.”

The absence of Messi has certainly affected Inter Miami’s strength (Photo: Getty).

With Argentina in the Copa America semi-finals, facing Canada on July 10, it is certain that either the third-place play-off will be played on July 13 or the final on July 14.

Messi is unlikely to return in time for Inter Miami’s MLS match against Toronto FC on July 18. But the 37-year-old left mid-season and may not need a long break after Argentina’s Copa. Inter Miami will face the Chicago Fire in MLS on July 21.