Messi Returns to Miami: Inter Miami CF vs. Atlanta United Preview

Hello everybody and welcome to another very special edition of Messi & Co. Austin here, joined by Gian and Ashley. We are ready and set for Inter Miami to return to action on the MLS pitch. This time we'll be in Atlanta. So welcome to our preview show. Welcome to Messi & Co. Ashley, Gian, international break is finally over. Inter Miami are getting a full roster somewhat back. We have a couple of key updates for you in terms of injuries and players returning and what it might mean going forward for certain positions and tactical ideas with Tata Martino. But first, let's talk about Lionel Messi. It is a Lionel Messi podcast after all. And the first key note here, and it's going to bring up a lot of conversation I think, and it probably already has if you've seen it on Twitter and things like that. Lionel Messi did not play in the second qualifier for Argentina against Bolivia. Now, there are a lot, there's a lot to take away from it. First, you go back to him being subbed off at the end of last match for, quote unquote, being tired. You know, a little bit of fatigue setting in finally for the 36-year-old who has played a ton of matches since he joined Inter Miami in July. But he misses a Bolivia match. And I'm wondering just right off the bat, start with you, Gian. Is this a net positive for Inter Miami? Does that mean that he's going to be more fit and ready to go against Atlanta? Or is it somewhat of a cause for concern? Or does Tata take it as, all right, let's continue to be conservative with Messi? Where do you stand on that spectrum? I actually think it's great for Inter Miami. Messi has been playing games back to back to back nonstop every three, four, five days. No time to rest. And even despite him not having enough time to rest, he's performed at an incredible level. So he's finally getting his rest. It'll be nine days since Messi, it'll be a nine-day break since Messi's game against Ecuador until he plays tomorrow. So that's got to be since probably the longest stint without a game and being able to rest since he's joined Inter Miami. So I think that's great news for us. We're getting a rest to Messi. And I mean, it was strange for us, I think, seeing Messi come out of the game. Usually when he starts a game or if he's in a game, he doesn't come out until the very end. So I think that there was some concern for his fans and for those of us that follow him at that very moment. But since then, it's been brought to our attention through various reports that it was nothing that we had to be worried about. There was no injury. It was just simply him being tired. So I think that that's great news for us. And just having him back on the lineup, I think that it was important to see that our team is a team that has, you know, in Messi's absence, I think that they've been able to show that they're a team that can handle the game and handle the pressure without having Messi. And that's something that comes with Messi as well, not just on the field but off the field. He instills that confidence within the players and the players have gotten better without him. So I felt like even without him on the field, his presence was felt in our last game. And it's definitely important and great to have the best player in the world and our best player on our team to have him back with us, especially for an important game as we continue this playoff push. Even on turf, I must add. Even on turf. Again, I do think he's going to play. We'll talk in a second if we think he's going to start or not. But Ashley, where do you stand on that spectrum? Is it a positive for Miami that he missed the Bolivia match or do you see it as Tata Martino possibly taking precautions going into Atlanta as well? I agree with Gian. I think it's definitely a positive. I believe, you know, the reports and what he said himself, which is that he's just a little bit tired and he didn't, you know, he didn't need to finish the game. I think in terms of the game with Bolivia, if, you know, if they were further along in the qualifiers or if there were other, you know, mitigating factors, he would have played if he had to, you know, but Bolivia had just lost 5-0 to Brazil. And I think that they all made, you know, a tactical decision that he didn't need to play. And he knows, especially after the win on Saturday, that Inter-Miami are continuing on this upward trajectory of a potential playoff spot. And, obviously, it's far away, but a potential to win a treble in his first season with the worst team in MLS. And I think that, you know, they all see the value in that. I do think he's going to start. I would be surprised if he didn't. Put it this way, if he's planning on playing on turf, I would be surprised if he didn't start. Like, you know, because if he wants to play and he's rested for nine days and he wants the playoff push, I don't see a world where he wouldn't start. So, yeah, that's where I'm at. And hopefully, you know, we keep moving in this forward direction. Yeah. And I think that, you know, there was a quote earlier, I'll try and bring it up, you know, with his, quote unquote, introductory press conference that came, you know, three weeks after he signed, where he was asked about turf. And he said that, you know, growing up, he played on those types of, you know, that type of material, that ground material, and he has no problem with it. He wants to play. And I think that there have been signs recently and of, you know, over the last couple of months that he's been here where he wants to stay competitive. He's not going to be a type of player to miss out on opportunities to push his team toward a playoff spot. And actually, if I'm not mistaken, you have something that Tata Martino said earlier this today or earlier this week about Messi's competitiveness. It was an interesting quote, for sure. What was that? Yeah, it was from the athletic that Tata Martino said, a quote, Leo was visibly frustrated after our scoreless draw against Nashville. I had to tell him relax, we're not going to win every game. He was very bitter. He's on a permanent quest to win. And it's very difficult to change them and that mentality. And when I read that, I was like, greatness doesn't take days off. That's something that I think is easy for all of us to, you know, and every day, even the best athletes, like there's the best and then there's like the goats, you know, it's different. I would say there's a handful of players in that same caliber who would say and feel the same way that it's just it's a different mentality. And especially after reading that quote, I don't see a world where he doesn't continue to push in as long as they continue to get positive results, as well as the right results happening around the Eastern Conference. We keep moving. And if anybody's doubting that this team is content with just what they've accomplished, that just goes to show that they want more. Messi wants more. Making it to the CONCACAF Champions, winning the Leagues Cup, US Open Cup, that's not enough for them. And that frustration just is a very big indicator of that, for sure. And I think it's also a sign, too, that they all understand, like as a unit, how important each game is, because we've been talking about how much pressure is really on each game, because there's almost no room for error. And that was the first sort of mistake in result that they had made since Messi joined. And so, you know, to hear about the frustration and hear about the will to win even after a draw. Granted, the draw was at home, so it looks a little bit worse, but against a team that, you know, defended with the low block that probably added to the frustration as well. Like, Nashville was barely on the ball, they had all these shots, just wasn't able to get it going for them. And I think that as much as that result might have hurt Miami's chances, I think that you could derive some positives from it. And I think that Messi quote that Tata spoke about today was one of them. Now, the quote that I had heard from Lionel Messi, word for word, he was actually asked more about the weather itself in South Florida and playing MLS at these times. And he said, I've been adapting and I feel very comfortable. I don't think that the adaptation to this kind of weather is ever complete. And I think we've learned to deal with it as best as we can. So I have no problem. And then just go straight into that also goes to the matter that has to do with turf has no problem. He's ready to adapt. Good to go. They do have turf pitches available to play on a driving stadium, or at least in the back of it near the training facility. So and I know that when Phil Neville was around, that was a key thing when they were getting ready to play on those types of grounds, they would use that in training in order to get ready to the ball movement, how your cleats dig into the ground and your lateral movements as a player. There's a lot to actually adjust to when thinking about these things. Hopefully down the line, we don't have to worry about this going forward. And as the NFL is also trying to crack down on this with, you know, fields, there's only a couple I believe right now it's just Atlanta and Charlotte that share NFL fields that have turf pitches in MLS. But then you have other MLS clubs, like Portland and Vancouver who have turf fields but aren't NFL stadiums. Hopefully, both commissioners put something in play with the owners and say, Hey, guys, look, this is actually a liability. Let's get let's get to move in. And I think it will come in the near future, hopefully in the near future, for all of the leagues in in America, really, I think we need to see that just really quickly when you when, you know, when everyday players and this is more NFL, but when everyday players get hurt, okay, whatever we make money, when Aaron Rodgers gets hurt, and you have and you know, your your your top five money makers in the NFL start to get hurt and are out for 1314 months. That's when suddenly, oh, maybe it is a good investment. And you know, you'll continue to see that I think it's unfortunate that something like that has to happen to push the conversation. But it is what it is. And it'll take what it needs to take. And hopefully it just starts to get pushed a little bit more and becomes a little bit more important for everybody. So let's get into the preview. Inter Miami are getting a ton of player back a ton of players back six to be exact, it would have been seven. But Drake calendar actually played against Sporting Kansas City. So I'm not going to count that he's coming back. I guess he's coming back to training. Unfortunately for Drake didn't get any minutes against Oman, they Greg Verhalter opted to go with Ethan Horvath instead. So maybe for Drake's sake, you know, playing against Sporting Kansas City and staying with Miami hurt his chances a little bit. But in reality, Miami really, really needed him there for that game. So at least on our side, we're happy with Drake having to play that most game he'll play against Atlanta as well. Obviously, Robert Taylor coming back, Sergey Kristov coming back, Joseph Martinez coming back, and I guess who I want to start with is Joseph Martinez. We've had a ton of important discussions on Joseph and on Campana and who gets to start. And depending on context, we've went both ways from time to time. And the main context here is that Joseph Martinez is returning to Atlanta for the first time as an inter-Miami player. Does that have any sort of say in the decision from Tata Martino? You look at the performance from Campana against Sporting Kansas City and just how dominant he was, you know, in the air, getting the goal as well off a penalty. Confidence must be through the roof. Where do you guys side on this? I think I know the answer, but I want to, I want either Ashley or I maybe to play devil's advocate here with Gian like, is there even a case? It's not even, it's not maybe does he start? That shouldn't be the question. Is there actually a case for Joseph Martinez or is it Campana and Campana only? Gian, I'm going to let you have this for now. Yeah. So, I mean, you know which way I'm going with this, but obviously I think it's Campana, not just because I'm Ecuadorian, but I mean, I think he's proven that he is the guy at least for now, because I know that we're asking, you know, it does take into consideration what's going on with, you know, Atlanta. We're going to go play in Atlanta. Does that factor in? I think that doesn't factor. And I think that more so factors in for Atlanta itself when, you know, they're, they're in the battle for points still right now. So it's going to be an important game for them, but also this is an important game for them because they're going up against Tata Martino, who is the head coach that got them their title, going against the player who was their number one goal scorer during that time in Joseph Martinez. So I think that that's more the game being against Atlanta is more of a factor from their side, maybe as added fuel to want to play hard against us. But from our side, I don't think that really matters. This is, this is a game where we're trying to accumulate points. We're in a playoff push that the Martino, I don't think is thinking, hey, at least in deciding whether it's Campana or Joseph, I don't think he's thinking, oh man, you know, from a, from a fan's perspective, this would be really great to put, you know, Joseph in because of the history. I don't, I don't think that's a factor in this decision. I think that what he's going to factor is what's on the field, what makes the team better? What's what has been the trajectory so far, at least within the last sample size of maybe four or five, six games, who has been doing better on the team. And I think from that perspective and solely that perspective, I think it's Campana. I think Campana has shown that he is the goal scorer right now. I think he's connecting well with the other players. He's making himself available in the box. He's adding a reference point on the attack. When Messi has the ball, whether it's Taylor on the left or Farias, they've got a big time reference point on the attacking end with, with Campana there as an added threat where with Joseph, they don't have that added threat because Joseph is so such a big part of the buildup as well. So he's not somebody that's waiting for, for a ball in. And I think that maybe in the past, there was a need for that with Joseph because maybe we didn't have the playmaking, but now you've got Kremasky, you've got Gomez, you've got Busquets, you've got Messi. There's no need for that function from Joseph, in my opinion, anymore, where you don't need that added element in the buildup. You need, you've got enough of that with everybody else where you just need that one guy that's going to be, whether it's just getting a ball inside the box and figuring it out a way to get a shot on target, or it's put the ball in the air and I'll make sure I get to it and cause some sort of, whether it's a goal or at least a, you know, get us a corner kick off of a save or whatever, I'm going to get that done. And I think that that's what, that's what Campana has been able to add, which we haven't had with Joseph. I don't think there's a need for Joseph's function in that perspective right now. So yeah, I'm going with Campana. Joseph can certainly come in in the second half, maybe, but right now, if you want to win, you need to go with what's working and with the guy that's scoring the goals for you, and I think it's Campana right now. Before I let you go, Ashley, I just want to make it a point in saying, and for anybody who's Venezuelan or loves Joseph Martinez, unfortunately, I think he's hitting his regressive period in his career. I think it's been really hard for him to return from injury, and even with Venezuela over the international break, nothing that you saw from his performances were promising. When he came off the bench, didn't add anything to Venezuela. When he started in the match, he only had 15 touches in 55 minutes that he played. Venezuela were also controlling the ball against Paraguay in the first half, for the most part. I mean, absolutely dominant in possession. Didn't turn into any goals. They had to score through Rondon with a penalty in the last minute of the game after Joseph was subbed off, but in reality, he's just not making himself available enough, and I think that that is an advantage that Gian has pointed out for Leonardo Campana, and I think that Joseph Martinez might be more of a system-type striker that certain teams may be able to use and take advantage of that right now I don't believe has actually worked into Miami thus far. With Campana, you saw it against, what, Cincinnati? You saw it against Forte in Kansas City? They are making adjustments at times to find ways to get in the ball in areas that Joseph Martinez simply would not be able to get to, and that's why I think the edge goes to Joseph, or goes to Campana, so sorry, and I do think that Joseph is entering a period of his career where he's regressing a little bit as a player, and he's not able to do exactly what he did in 2018 when he won the MVP and won the league, or 2020 when he won the MVP, or was that Pazuelo? I don't know. Mine's all over the place. I know he won MLS Cup in 2018, so there's that, but yeah, I think that right now, if I'm Tata Martino, even if I don't see him as my striker for the future, which is another conversation we definitely should have, Campana should be the starter. Yeah, I mean, I can't play devil's advocate because I agree. I think, you know, Joseph, and maybe just in this iteration or whatever it is, I think he could absolutely be like a super sub, you know, bringing him in in the 60th minute. He's still incredibly clever, and he obviously reads the game really well and can know his moments to attack, right, so there's still, I think, value in him, but you play the striker who's finishing. We saw it from Messi's quote earlier, or Tata's quote about Messi, about the team in general. Right now, it's win, win, win, and that means, you know, when you're a team, when you're trying to achieve greatness, it's whoever's the players that are most in form deserve to be the ones who start, and, you know, with Joseph now, I would even say he'll get an even bigger ovation if he comes in off as a sub as opposed to if he started in the game. Like, he'll get his moment, you know, from the Atlanta crowd, and maybe they know how he plays so well. It's also an advantage for him not to start, you know what I mean? I can see that, you know, I can see that he can have a ton of value in this game. Honestly, I really do, but not as a starter, and I think we'll all, you know, we'll see that with the lineup on Saturday. Lineup, let's talk about that. I didn't even know that was going to be the next one. No, yeah, you did. No, it was perfect. You didn't even know it was perfect. As we've mentioned, getting a lot of players back from the international break, and I want to start from back to front here because what we saw against Sporting Kansas City was a brand new partnership, kind of, and Tata Martino spoke about it with Tomas Avales and Kamal Miller playing in a back four together. You obviously have DeAndre Edlin and Jordi Alba on either side of them, we think. Sergey Kristov comes back from Ukraine, gets some starting minutes in the does he tweak this? Does Tata Martino go back to a back three or a three-centerback formation, or does he leave Kristov out of it as he is an older player and try and build a partnership through Kamal Miller and Tomas Avales if, you know, those are going to be the starting centerbacks for, you know, the next couple of years to come under Tata Martino. I'm kind of torn, but I do think that you go with Avales and Miller and leave Kristov off. I don't know how you guys see it, but I'd rather see a back four than a back five. I think that it helps them in possession at times, and I think that with Messi obviously being reinserted into the lineup, having that control and the numbers advantage in the midfield and going forward is going to be key for them to hold the ball in Atlanta side of the pitch rather than their own. I think that at times when they have a three-centerback formation, more often than not, they're passing the ball around the back and struggling to break barriers. They're struggling to break down teams, and you have to commit numbers forward with centerbacks or defensive midfielders that aren't necessarily apt and able to help contribute to breaking down a back line. So if you get an extra number in terms of an attacker or a midfielder who can break down the space, then I think it makes sense. Do you guys kind of agree with that, or does Kristov come back for Tata Martino and add a sense of stability? Well, for me, I'll say that I agree. I think it's going to be Miller and Avales. I think it's going to be a 4-3-3. I think it's going to be, like we just said, it's going to be Jordi Alba, Yedlin, Miller, Avales. I think the midfield, it's going to be Busquets, Kramashki, and Arroyo. And then I think we're going to have Farias, Campana, and Messi. I think that's what I would like to see. I think that would be the best starting 11, obviously. You just got to pen and paper to get down your prediction because you've been killing it. So I'm going to make sure that we have this one going. I would say for the last few ones, it was more so like me trying to really be strategic and think what is going to happen. This is, I think, more so be this is what I'd like the lineup to be. This is what I want to see happen because Gomez obviously has that muscle injury he picked up. That's what I'd like to see. You tell me what you think. I think I agree. And it's not just because you've been right lately. I want to be right too, please. But no, I completely agree with you. Exactly what you said is what I think is going to be on the field. And I think that going back to like whether it's a backline of four, it's a backline of three. We have to remember that. And actually, actually, man, that's a tongue twister. Actually, Ashley. Every time I've heard actually growing up, I think it's my name. It's the last 28 years, so don't worry. Yeah. So Ashley and I were actually kind of talking a little bit about this before the pod, but it's funny how Atlanta's offensive side and defensive side is like on the opposite sides of the spectrum, where they're one of the teams on the defensive end that struggle the most and gets scored on the most. But on the offensive end, they're one of the top three offenses in the league. And we have to take that into consideration. They're one of the teams that have scored the most goals. I wrote that actually their third. They have the third most goals in the league with 51. And they're tied with Charlotte and Austin for most goals conceded. But they're a team that scores a lot. And we know that although Miami's defense has been getting better with each game, they're still not 100 percent to their potential. And with such a dangerous team on the offensive end, I would hate to have a back three. I think would be great to have that back line of four. And obviously, with our with Busquets and Arroyo there in the back helping, that's I think that that's going to be optimal for us to make sure that we don't concede any goals or at least concede minimal amount of goals. And right now, at least reading through the different projections and that sort of thing, it's projected that Atlanta is going to score at least one. So we can keep it to at least one on the offensive end. I trust us enough to be able to score multiple goals, especially with arrested Messi, with Campana on fire and Farias with what we've seen on his end. I don't have any worry that we're going to score multiple times in this game. I think the key is managing the defensive end. That's that's what I think is the key to this game. I agree. And I think a lot of that you can connect back to the 4-0 win against Atlanta in the League Cup when Taylor and Messi were combining early on in the first half when I think they went up 3-0 in the first half. Yeah, by halftime. And so, you know, getting out in front early was a really big key to success for Inter Miami when Messi first joined. I don't think that that should go away. I think that should still be a focal point, because normally in MLS, when you go up early, it takes a lot more for a team to come back. And that's normally how it is in world football anyway. But with this Atlanta side, you know, I hadn't known that actually, Gian, the stuff that you brought up. Completely different. I mean, yeah. And so I guess expect an open game. And I think that plays into Miami's hands a little bit because they do have the better attackers all around, obviously with Lionel Messi. I think that, you know, having an open game and I don't think you're going to see a direct emulation of what happened the first time or the second time that met this year, that game in league stuff before. No way. I don't think you're going to get a direct copy of that game. But I do think that you can expect goals. And I do think that it's going to be open. And I think Tata will have to take that into consideration when, you know, talking about the midfielders. Diego Gomez not being there might hurt a little bit because he is a little bit of an engine. He does like to run around a lot and that could help. But with Dixon Arroyo, Sergio Busquets, obviously building that partnership and figuring out defensively how the rotation should work in terms of dropping into defense and and when to figure out how to be more conservative has been really important. That leaves a little bit of question open for Benjamin Kramasky and what his role would be if he is to start. And he got his debut, by the way. Very big congratulations to him for debuting for the first team, the U.S. men's national team. That is not Argentina, I hope. And also another note, too, is that, you know, they did keep a clean sheet against Atlanta and Jordi Alba hadn't made an appearance here. Maybe that was a substitute appearance for Noah Allen in that game. I don't remember exactly, but I know Noah Allen started that game against Atlanta in League Cup. So adding, you know, a Jordi Alba there, adding a Tomas Aguilera, a younger defender than Sergey Kristov, maybe boost this team a little bit more. And I think Miami have all of the edge in this one. Messi aside, have the edge in this one to take it to Atlanta. It's OK if it's open. Just make sure you score and take your chances. Well, trust the defense, try and control the ball, take it to them in their own stadium in front of what's going to probably be 60,000, 65,000 people because they opened the Mercedes-Benz Arena all the way to the top, which they don't normally do from last games. And you'll see that with Chicago and Charlotte as well, doing the same exact thing later on in the year. I think you just take it to them and go ahead and do everything you possibly can to score a ton of goals. It just makes the most sense, especially a team that has given up so many as well. You think what did you say, John, most in MLS or tied for most in MLS? Yeah, they have the third most goals in the league with 51. But I think something interesting to know is also that Atlanta has scored in every league game since June and they've also scored in every home game the entire season. So obviously, when we played them in, we played them twice already, but both times were at DRV Pink Stadium. This is going to be the first time that we do play them over in Atlanta. So they have yet to not score at home. So that's why I see that there being at least one goal there. But I don't think we're going to struggle at all in this one. I think that we're going to score multiple goals. I don't think it's going to be a close game, but I don't expect a clean sheet for us. I think they can, we can, but I wouldn't put all my money on that. But it's going to be a good game, I think, either ways. But I wouldn't say that I'm worried in any way. I don't think you guys are either. Yeah, no, I mean, yeah, I agree with your commentary. I would also say that Kansas City had been a really, really hot offensive team, right, the last few weeks. And the two goals, honestly, I think they were aberrations of the overall game. I don't think it was a reflection on Miami's defense throughout the game. I thought we did a very good job defensively, honestly. I think those were slip ups, and they're going to keep getting better. It wasn't like LAFC, where it was so open that they could have scored 10 and they just missed. I think that our defense was stronger. I think our defense will continue to be strong. Yeah, that was only Messi's second game. And so think about how much more they've played and gelled and all of those things. They've gotten the rest. The defense has, I think, been invigorated and have a much stronger, more disciplined structure to it. You add Jordi Alba. Yeah, I agree. I hope that we can continue to push through and have a strong showing. I've normally been one against stronger MLS size. I have been the one to say, okay, I'm not going to be overly confident. I'm going to critique Miami as much as I can to conserve my expectations and my rationale has a lot of the time been okay. I have seen these teams at MLS before perform at levels that are really good. And normally, you know, as a unit, other MLS teams will struggle against them just because of how they are. And that's normally been said for teams who play well defensively. Nashville SC is the prime example. They played them twice. I was very conservative twice about how I saw the game. And, you know, depending on the results and all that, with Atlanta United, I'm gonna be completely honest with you guys, even being as objective as possible. I have never been more confident into Miami winning a game. Oh, my God, you guys are missing me out with these takes. Honestly, I genuinely like, obviously, I have a little bit of a boost from the sporting Kansas City game, because they did that without Lionel Messi. Now granted those last 10 minutes against sporting Kansas City, borderline abysmal. However, they got the job done. They crossed the line with two feet and got the three points at home without Lionel Messi. And we've already spoken about the confidence they have and all of that kind of stuff with Messi off the field. But I don't care, throw that off with Messi's back, Messi's back, and he's gonna be able to provide offense for this team against a really bad defensive team. I don't care that they're at home. If anything, it's given Miami more boost to play away from home. You saw the LAFC match against LAFC are a great MLS side. I mean, they haven't been as of late, but the quality is all around on the roster. I do think that Atlanta has some really good players. You know, I just, I cannot see it being enough. And I've said to you guys, like, there's no way this team doesn't make the playoffs at this point, because you look at the rest of the schedule, you look at their opponents, and what they've done in the league this season, and I know Atlanta is actually mid tier of in terms of playoff spots for the Eastern Conference or fourth or fifth in the East with the points that they've won. But it doesn't scare me in the slightest. I do think that what have you done with Austin, I'm telling you, something has turned. And I'm just like, you know what? Yeah, I'm like, he's been so objective. And it just well, but this this is what I'm saying. I still want to be that objective person. But this is me being objective. You're tired of it backfiring on you. That's it. Well, that's true. But I'm, I'm just, this is, I've, you know, Giana, we were making predictions earlier on in the year. And you're just like, after like two or three games, like, alright, screw it. I'm tired of trying to be this, you know, conservative, objective guy when I'm making predictions. And I want to be more realistic, like no, Miami is gonna win the game for one. And then they were end up doing that for a couple of games. You know, I think this is one of those times where Miami go back and get four on the score sheet, like they did against Dallas, like they get against Charlotte, like they did against Atlanta the first time, like, I'm just, I don't know, I'm excited for this game. I this is this is a game that I'm extremely excited for, because I think Miami will put up numbers. Yeah, I think we I mean, we scored that first game without without Messi, we scored two goals. Messi comes in, we scored four goals. So the goals are going to be I, I'm 100% sure. And I would say that we do need to take into consideration that there, I think that they're going to be more ready for us now than they were in that game. That was only that was actually Messi's first time starting in a game. They were unprepared for that. I mean, he had scored two goals before they even realized what was happening. Like it was just boom, boom like that. So I think that they're going to be more prepared this time. I think they're going to focus more on me on trying to contain quote unquote contained messy because I mean, can you really but they're going to try obviously, I don't know if they'll man mark them or do what I think they're going to focus on busquets, who's the one the main guy that's going to feed messy. So I think they'll be more prepared from a game plan perspective. But I think that just the offense began when you mentioned that the offense, our offense is I guess what gives me the most confidence and saying I don't, I mean, they might score one, they might score two, our offense is going to score more than theirs. That's what it comes down to our offense will score more than theirs, even though their offense is great. They score a lot of goals. I can't even pronounce his name. Georges. Yeah, thank you. I can't pronounce that. But he scored 13 times in 21 games. He scored three times in the last four games. So, you know, if you're on price picks, he comes up. And he probably normally does come up on price picks, to be honest with you. He normally does. And actually, I was playing MLS fantasy earlier this year. And he was one of my players at the beginning. And then I stopped playing because I stopped being good. But he's always. But yeah, so he might he might score and then you know, you've got the that's also a good player. So they've got guys that will definitely be threats. But I think again, just to our earlier point, if we can line up with that, with a backline of four, and we have busquets and not really there, I think that they'll do a good job of containing those high power guys that they got up front. But at the end of the day, our guys will score more. And I would also say that, like, you know, I know we said the game is going to be open and it will be. But, you know, in each of our three lines on the field, we have an incredibly seasoned player from one of the greatest teams to ever like greatest club teams or club eras of all time, right of Barcelona. And so Alba, Busquets and Messi will like they know how to win games that matter. They know how to keep everyone disciplined and focused and not let the moment get the best of them. And I think as especially as the season comes to a close, you're going to see it more than more. I mean, the game on on Saturday with Kansas City, it had like it had Alba and Busquets footprint all over it. You know, they were they were keeping everyone calm and making the right decisions, thinking one step ahead. All of those all of those factors is sometimes intangible factors that you need. And when you're playing a high octane offense, those are really important. And you start to make the right decisions and you start to, you know, predict what the next pass is going to be. You can predict when they're going to try and go over the top of the defense, maybe. And, you know, or or counterattack. And and yeah, those kind of things make a big difference in in seeing your teams win those games that matter towards the end. One thousand percent. Now, I do. Is this the new is it's a new viewing for anybody watching on YouTube? I was like, you guys don't need to see me in 4K. I want to also mention we've been doing this on every show where Miami stand right now in terms of the playoffs. I had if you're watching on YouTube, I had it running down the bottom for a little bit. But if you're listening, I want everybody to know it looks more realistic than it ever has before. And that obviously can go unsaid because all they've done is gain points since they started playing in a molest again. Miami right now are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with twenty eight points. Mind you, they came in with Messi with, I believe, like twelve points or something. Fourteen or eighteen. Fifteen. Yeah. Fifteen is something crazy. Now have twenty eight nine teams will make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference play in or not. And right now, D.C. United are in possession of that ninth place on thirty four points. Thirty four. So Miami are six points out of a playoff spot as it stands. Adding on to that, D.C. United have played in twenty eight matches into Miami have played in twenty six. If Miami are to win those two games that they can make up against D.C. United, hypothetically, they would be tied. No, actually, I'm so sorry. I read that wrong. They would be in possession of the ninth spot based off of wins in MLS, because right now, D.C. United have nine into Miami, have eight. The first tiebreaker in MLS is number of wins, not goals, not goal differential. That is very different than a lot of other leagues, but it is number of wins. Miami would have the advantage. Chicago are sitting in tenth place with twenty seven matches played and thirty two points. So really, if you think Chicago wins their their game in hand, they're actually at thirty five. So at worst case scenario, if Miami win their two games in hand, they're only one point out of ninth place. So almost almost we've gotten to a point with over, you know, what I think, what, eight games now left in the season where Miami can control their own destiny. They are there on the fringe of controlling their own destiny to making the MLS playoffs. If you would have told me that would have happened by this game, I would have been like, there's no shot. There's absolutely no shot that Miami are in control of their own fate in playoffs for MLS. But it's right there. They're literally one game removed from it happening. We'll see what happens on this match day over the weekend. For the most part, into Miami have gotten every single result to go their way over the past couple of match days, MLS. So hopefully it happens again for them. Insane to think about. Insane to even say nothing I would have fathomed, you know, a couple of months ago. But here they are. Messi has brought this team to a whole, whole other level. It's very much possible. It's just it's incredible what they've done. Miami hasn't lost a game in 12 games, which is just incredible. Incredible. Twelve games without a loss. And if you think if you're looking at the at the standings right now in the schedule that we have left, we've actually got games against teams that are directly in front of us. We have a game against Chicago that's in 10th. We've got two games against Charlotte that's in 11th. We've got a game against New York City that's in 12th. So four of those eight games are against teams that are directly in the playoff push as well. So that I mean, the schedule is like for us. It's just beautiful. It's really exciting. It's like we can't wait to see what's going to happen. Every game means so much. All right. With all that said, we're going to get right into our predictions after a word from one of our amazing sponsors. If you are ready to transform your backyard into a haven of relaxation and luxury, look no further than our amazing podcast sponsor, Lackawannazuda Pool Services. With over 20 years of industry experience, Lackawannazuda is a name you can trust when it comes to services, equipment repairs and restoration for all things pools. If you're looking in the South Florida area for your pool to be serviced on a month-to-month basis, Lackawannazuda boasts an impressive five-star rating on Google Reviews and it's a testament to their dedication to customer satisfaction and top-notch service. Also, if you mention Messy & Co., you will get your first month of pool service absolutely free. So don't wait for pool service, patio renovation or more. Call them now at 954-793-7206 and get a free quote for any project. Thanks, Lackawannazuda. That's kind of me believing in the Atlanta attack a little bit. But I think Miami run rampant with this one. We see a similar performance to what they did against LAFC. We see a similar performance with the Atlanta and Leagues Cup. Score a ton of goals. Be the dominant side. Take it to Atlanta and show them that they are the better team. I'm saying 4-1 into Miami. Ashley, what do you say? All right. 3-0. We're going to have a clean sheet. I hope they have a clean sheet. I'm believing in the defense. Okay. So 3-0. So we've got 4-1, 3-0. I am going to go 3-1. And I'm going 3-1 because I genuinely like to go with statistics. I'm going 3-1. I'm going to go with statistics. They have scored in every home game so far this season. So I'm going to go with statistics so they get their one goal. I'm going to go not scoring four because I feel like they're going to be more prepared this time around for Messi and for into Miami. Plus, they want to show out in front of their ex-coach, in front of their ex-goalscorer. And they're in the playoff. We're trying to maintain themselves in a good spot in playoffs. So I think they're going to go hard at this one. So it'll be 3-1, Farias, Campana, and Messi all with goals. Oh, wait. We're giving goalscores now. We're giving goalscores now. No, I'm not doing that. No way. It's going to be a Chilena from Campana, a header from... No, I'm just kidding. A free-kick goal from Messi, 30 yards out. Yeah, exactly. That's probably the number one prediction that you could probably have, honestly. Talk about greatness really quick. That's like saying, oh yeah, LeBron will probably get a three every game or something. The fact that it's becoming automatic that he's scoring free-kick goals, it's not human. Don't foul Messi or into Miami around the box because you're literally giving yourself a 75% chance of giving up a goal. It's borderline penalty kick. It's ridiculous. I would almost rather a penalty, I think, if I was opposing a team. Yeah, right? I mean, jeez. But yeah, it's crazy how he just converts so easily. All right, well, we'll see on Saturday if Lionel Messi can go ahead and get one of those, get on the score sheet as he returns to MLS action. For everybody at 5 Reasons Sports and the crew from Messi & Co., Gian, Ashley, and myself, thank you so much for tuning in and listening. If you haven't already, subscribe to the YouTube channel, turn on the notifications, hit like, leave your comments on the video. We'll do our best to either write back to you or address them on the next show. And if you are listening on the podcast platforms, thank you so much. Make sure you download the episodes and follow and obviously rate as well. It does us a huge, huge favor. And for everybody who doesn't listen on the podcast platforms, just go to Apple, Spotify, wherever you want to listen to, type in Messi in the search bar, look for the logo that you see in the top right corner here on YouTube, and give us a follow as well. It'll do us a huge, huge favor. We'll see if Inter Miami can get three points against Atlanta United on Saturday. The game has been moved to 5pm, so make sure you're tuned in a little bit earlier on. Normally, games are 7.30 over here on the East Coast, but they actually moved the game up a little bit. I'm not sure why, but just a little reminder there. So with that said, thank you everybody for listening, and we'll see you guys after the game on Saturday.