Inter Miami CF’s Leagues Cup title defense got off to a flying start Saturday night, courtesy of a 2-0 win over Club Puebla at Chase Stadium.
While the result was the same – a win over a LIGA MX opponent – it came in contrast to Miami’s first Leagues Cup match a year ago. On that night, Lionel Messi debuted and scored a Hollywood-esque free-kick winner against Cruz Azul.
The GOAT finished as the competition’s leading scorer, leading Inter Miami to the title via a penalty-kick shootout over Nashville SC. It was the club’s first trophy.
This time, Messi watched from the stands while nursing an ankle injury he suffered with Argentina in the Copa América final. The setback could sideline him for much, if not all, of Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup campaign.
But Messi witnessed yet another impressive performance from a club that continues to win without the best player on the planet.
"We have the obligation of fighting for both tournaments [MLS Cup and Leagues Cup]," head coach Tata Martino said in Spanish after the match. "But that's not because we won Leagues Cup last season, but because these tournaments are not played at the same time. ... There's no need for us to choose between one or the other."
Inter Miami enter Leagues Cup leading the Supporters' Shield race, five points clear of FC Cincinnati. With impressive depth, they're pushing for silverware in multiple competitions.
Against Puebla, those efforts started with MatÃas Rojas' thunderous left-footed strike and were capped by Luis Suárez tapping in a terrific service from former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba. On the latter goal, Julian Gressel's sublime pass opened the sequence.
"We are a team that goes out to the pitch and establishes things during the first minutes of the game, that's important to start winning," Suárez told reporters after the match. "Puebla found themselves in a difficult situation, being down on the scoreboard. And we could finish it during the second half."
In between, David Martinez debuted at center back after arriving on loan from Argentine juggernaut River Plate. And goalkeeper CJ dos Santos made a pair of saves to earn the clean sheet, with the 23-year-old starting in favor of Drake Callender.
"We have two very good goalkeepers and this was a very good opportunity to give CJ a chance," Martino said. "Now, our point of view of this tournament is different from the point of view we had a year ago. A year ago we were amongst the last in the league, but now we are in the first place. We don't find the need of taking further precautions. We played a week ago, and we'll play again in a week's time. This a very demanding tournament that wears off players a lot."
Looking to book their knockout-round place, Inter Miami next face Tigres UNAL on Aug. 3 at NRG Stadium in Houston (8 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
"Inter have already won this, they have the experience," Suárez said. "This is a matter of fighting until the end. Some like this, some may not, but we need to get used to it. Our obligation is to work."
