Inter Miami beats Atlanta United in Lionel Messi's MLS playoff debut

CNN
—

Inter Miami defeated Atlanta United 2-1 on Friday in Lionel Messi's Major League Soccer (MLS) playoff debut.

It was two of his former Barcelona teammates who scored the goals: Luis Suárez opened the scoring in the second minute and Jordi Alba's long-range shot after the hour secured the win, with Messi himself providing the assist.

Saba Lobzhanidze equalized for Atlanta in the 39th minute^Th minute, but Inter Miami's left-back's impressive 25-yard advance provided the decisive goal.

The win gives Miami a one-game lead in the best-of-three series of the first round of the MLS playoffs, with Game 2 to be played Nov. 2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

“It's not easy to find such crucial full-backs who contribute so much to the team's offensive game – Dani Alves, Cafu, Marcelo, Roberto Carlos, they are all at this level,” Miami head coach Gerardo Martino said afterwards, per MLS, about Alba's influence on the team.

“Technically he has a quality that is very rare in a full-back, and that is better when he understands where Luis and Leo are and can find them and how they can find him if they can find Jordi.” Certainly “It’s difficult to find a player who plays in his position and is just as crucial.”

Even though Messi didn't find the net, the Argentine was prominently involved throughout the game at Chase Stadium, providing the assist for Alba's game-winning goal and constantly causing trouble for the Atlanta goal.

The 37-year-old made several saves from Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan and hit the post midway through the first half.

His assist for Alba's second-half goal – Alba's fifth goal of the season – was Messi's 17th of the year.

The win was the perfect start to the postseason for Miami, which begins with a lot of pressure on its shoulders. Not only does it boast a star-studded roster full of experienced talent, but it also entered the playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed, following a successful regular season in which it suffered just four losses en route to amassing 74 points, its most in the league, lost.

“It was a game where I liked the most that we had control of the pitch for almost the entire game,” Martino said afterwards, according to Inter Miami. “We didn't make many mistakes that would have allowed the enemy to break out into space.

“We had five clear chances in the first half, one of which went just wide of the post. We were patient. I believe that without Brad (Guzan)’s performance, the game should have ended with a significant difference.”

Atlanta had reached this stage of the MLS playoffs after defeating Montreal on penalties in the wild-card round.