Concachampions

Fort Lauderdale. With the loss of Lionel Messi, Inter Miami fell 2-1 against Monterrey in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup, in a duel marked by the expulsion of its Honduran midfielder David Ruiz.

Inter took the lead with a goal from young Argentine centre-back Tomás Avilés in the 19th minute and controlled the game in front of their Chase Stadium audience until David Ruiz saw a second yellow card for slapping his hand in the 65th minute.

The Rayados took advantage of their advantage to turn the score around with goals from Argentinians Maxi Meza in the 69th minute and Jorge Rodríguez in the 89th minute.

The tie will be resolved in the second leg on April 10 on the Monterrey field. The winning team will face in the semifinals the winner of the key between Tigres, neighbor and archrival of Monterrey, and Columbus Crew, current MLS champion, which started with a 1-1 draw in the first leg on Tuesday.

Messi followed the game from a box near the grass as he did not recover in time from his hamstring injury that has kept him out since March 13.

Coach Gerardo Martino had announced that his objective was to recover the Argentine star for this clash but finally had to leave him out of the squad.

In addition to the Albiceleste captain, ‘Tata’ had other significant losses such as that of Argentine midfielder Federico Redondo for this tough match with Monterrey, five-time champion of this tournament and co-leader of the Mexican Clausura with only one defeat in 13 days.

Key Expulsion

Orphaned again by their leader, Inter had a hard time getting the pulse of the game in the early stages. The ‘Rayados’ snatched the ball from Busquets and the rest of the Miami midfielders and dangerously approached the local goal in a couple of actions that the Mexican-American Brandon Vázquez was unable to complete.

In a display of effectiveness, Inter took advantage of their first opportunity in a corner taken by the German Julian Gressel who, after passing in front of three defenders, was finished off with his foot by ‘Toto’ Avilés, anticipating Héctor Moreno.

The goal by the 20-year-old center back was a hard blow to the confidence of Monterrey who, on a dull night for their Spanish figure Sergio Canales, took cover so as not to give up any further advantage before the break.

Inter took control of the game but without activating Suárez, whose first option came in stoppage time with a deflected shot by Gerardo Arteaga.

In the 37th minute, Finnish winger Robert Taylor joined the extensive list of injuries for Martino’s team and was replaced by young Brazilian Leo Afonso, signed this week.

Upon returning from the locker room, Inter continued to dominate with a more active Suárez who dared to try his luck with a free kick that went wide.

With 25 minutes left, David Ruiz brought Monterrey back to life by seeing two almost consecutive yellow cards, the second for a slap to the face of Meza.

After the 20-year-old Honduran left the field, it only took Monterrey four minutes to equalize the score also with a corner kick.

Canales collected a service that Busquets involuntarily headed towards his goal. Goalkeeper Drake Callender managed to clear it but in the direction of Meza, who he finished off in the small area.

Another Argentine, Jorge Rodríguez, completed the comeback with a spectacular goal from outside the area after another loss of the ball by the Inter defense.