Messi plays poorly and Inter Miami complicates itself in the Concacaf semifinals | OneFootball

Often decisive for Inter Miami since his arrival at the club, Lionel Messi had one of the most lackluster performances in the 2-0 defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semi-finals. As a result, the MLS side will need to win by three goals or more in the second leg to secure their place in the final.

Vancouver Whitecaps started the match pressing Inter Miami and Wiigandt had a lot of work to do to prevent the Canadians' first chances. When he tried to make the difference in the first half, Messi lost the ball to the defender in a one-on-one move inside the box and saw a great opportunity wasted.

Vancouver Whitecaps v Inter Miami CF - CONCACAF Champions Cup | Jeff Vinnick/GettyImages

In the 24th minute, Vite lifted the ball into the box and White burst through Falcon's back to put Vancouver Whitecaps ahead. Inter Miami tried to put on some attacking pressure in search of an equalizer, but constant failures in the final pass of play meant that the attacking pressure didn't turn into goals. Messi tried to be more involved with more movement in the attacking area and was dangerous when Takaoka's free-kick was saved.

However, Inter Miami's situation took a turn for the worse in the 85th minute when Jayden Nelson got away from Falcon (who put in a terrible performance with two fatal poor decisions) and crossed the ball back. Mascherano's defensive system failed him and the ball passed through the entire defense to Berhalter, who shot firmly and scored the second goal.

Was Lionel Messi to blame for Inter Miami's defeat?

Lionel Messi would certainly need to perform better to make the difference that Inter Miami fans have become accustomed to in recent years. However, the team needs to put behind them that uncomfortable instability that ends up affecting the individual performances of their best players.