Lionel Messi, who made his Inter Miami debut with a thrilling winning goal, might earn his first start for the club against Atlanta United in the Leagues Cup on Tuesday, coach Gerard Martino said.
Messi had an electrifying impression after coming on as a 54th-minute substitute in the 2-1 victory over Mexican club Cruz Azul on Friday, winning the game in stoppage time from a free-kick.
Despite choosing to limit Messi and Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets’ playing time on Friday, Miami’s Argentine head coach Martino revealed on Monday that he would like to start the two against his former club on Tuesday.
“Well, it is very likely that both Leo and Busi will play more time. I even think that if they are going to play more (then) we will change the dynamic and they will go maybe from the beginning. But we all know that when Leo starts, that amount of time we would be talking about is 90 minutes,” said the former Barcelona and Argentina coach. He added, “But everything will depend on how they feel, it is only the second game that they are going to play.”
Martino stated that his side is still figuring out how to get the best out of their two new star teammates, who will shortly be joined by former Barcelona full-back Jordi Alba from Spain.