Defending champions Inter Miami started the new MLS season with a defeat. Lionel Messi’s team lost 3-0 to Los Angeles FC. Meanwhile, Timo Werner still has to wait for his debut in the USA.
Werner, who has played 57 times for his country, was still missing from the San Jose Earthquakes squad at the start of the new MLS season on Saturday night. The reason: the 29-year-old, who moved from RB Leipzig to the US West Coast in the winter, is still waiting for his visa. According to Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena, this could take “a few weeks.”
Without Werner, San Jose celebrated a confident 3-0 win in front of their home crowd against Sporting Kansas City. Shortly before halftime, Daniel Munie (42′) and Preston Judd (45’+1) put the hosts on course. Munie sealed the final score with a second goal in the 54th minute.
Fans in Los Angeles also saw a 3-0 win, with LAFC putting the defending champions in their place at the start of the season – and that in front of the second-largest crowd in MLS history. In front of 75,673 fans at the Memorial Coliseum, Heung-Min Son set up David Martinez for the opening goal in the 37th minute.
The visitors from Florida had 68 percent possession and pushed hard for the equalizer, especially in the second half, before Denis Bouanga added another for LAFC in the 73rd minute. Nathan Ordaz sealed the deal in stoppage time (90+4). However, Miami only managed three shots on target.
Messi’s curling shot just misses
Messi remained largely ineffective, only missing the top left corner with a beautiful curling shot from 16 meters in stoppage time in the first half. “We just prepared for the best Messi, and when you prepare for the best Messi, you have to have numbers around him in the penalty area,” LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos explained his tactics against the 38-year-old.
In this regard, his team delivered an “A+” defensively, Dos Santos said. However, he still saw room for improvement when his team had possession: “We can be much better—and we want to be much better.” For Inter coach Javier Mascherano, the final score was too high, but the truth is that “they beat us fair and square.” On Monday night, Los Angeles Galaxy, led by Marco Reus, will also kick off the new season with a home game against New York City FC.