Inter Miami’s long and arduous 2024 preseason tour took a turn for the worse as the MLS club was pummeled 6-0 by Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in a friendly from Riyadh on Thursday.
The match was billed as “The Last Dance,” considered the likely final chapter in Lionel Messi’s rivalry with fellow global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. However, that was far from the eventual reality.
Ronaldo suffered an ankle injury a week ago and was unable to recover in time for the match. Messi was initially left out of the Inter Miami squad, but was added to the bench as a substitute in the second half and came on as a substitute for the last six minutes of the game.
Anderson Talisca scored a hat-trick for Al Nassr when Ronaldo was offside. Otavio and Mohammed Maran also performed well.
Ronaldo picked up a calf injury a week ago and could not recovered in time to participate. Messi was initially excluded from Inter Miami’s squad, but a late change saw him added to the substitutes bench, and he came on for the final six minutes of the match.
Anderson Talisca starred for Al Nassr, bagging a hat-trick with Ronaldo sidelined. Otavio and Mohammed Maran were also exceptional in the blowout win.
Inter Miami’s defensive woes were on full display here, just days after being beaten 4-3 by another top Saudi club Al Hilal. Additionally, they were smothered up front in Messi’s absence, with Luis Suarez and Leonardo Campana both kept quiet. Tata Martino has a lot of work to do as the club gears up for the 2024 season, with Inter Miami jetting off to Hong Kong for another match just three days later.
Starting lineups:
Al Nassr (4-2-3-1, right to left): 26. Ospina (GK — W. Abdullah, 31′) — 12. Al-Boushal, 5. Al Amri (Al Fatil, 60′), 27. Laporte (Sahlouli, 81′), 15. Telles (Al Nakhli, 80′) — 8. Al Sulaihem (Al-Hassan, 60′), 77. Brozovic — 94. Talisca (Tambakti, 80′), 25. Otavio (Al Hamoush, 81′), 46. Al Aliwa — 16. Maran (Al Nemer, 80′).
Inter Miami (3-5-2, right to left): 1. Callender (GK) — 6. Aviles, 27. Kryvtsov, 32. Allen — 24. Gressel, 26. Gregore, 5. Busquets, 41. D. Ruiz (Sunderland, 84′), 18. Alba (Yedlin, 68′) — 9. Suarez (Taylor, 68′), 8. Campana (Messi, 83′).
Inter Miami vs Al Nassr final score
Al Nassr 6
Inter miami 0
Leave a Reply