FORT LAUDERDALE, United States: Lionel Messi's goal of winning the MLS Cup title came to an abrupt end yesterday with his Inter Miami suffering a shock first-round elimination from the playoffs after a 3-2 home defeat to Atlanta United.
Miami had won the regular season campaign with a record points total but after losing twice in the best-of-three series, the MLS Cup favourites and their eight-times Ballon d'Or winner are out.
All the accolades Miami received for their regular season 'Supporters' Shield' triumph count for little after an Atlanta team which finished ninth in the Eastern Conference pulled off a stunning upset.
Inter took the lead in the 17th minute when Messi was denied by a diving save from Atlanta keeper Brad Guzan but Matias Rojas followed in to slot home the loose ball.
Just two minutes later though the visitors, who only secured a wildcard spot on the final day of the season, levelled when a deflected pass from Dax McCarty fell to Jamal Thiare who confidently fired home with a sweet strike.
Miami were stunned when moments later Thiare struck again -- the 37-year-old McCarty lifted the ball forward to Russian Aleksei Miranchuk who slipped the ball inside to the Senegalese striker who blasted home to make it 2-1.
Diego Gomez thought he had brought Miami level in the 23rd minute but his effort was ruled out for offside and Miami continued to look vulnerable against Atlanta's swift breaks.
After the break, the 40-year-old former USA and Aston Villa keeper Guzan was in inspired form as he frustrated Miami's search for an equalizer.
Miami, with the injured Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets on the bench, lacked fluency in midfield and neither Messi nor his former Barcelona strike partners Luis Suarez were at their best as they struggled to conjure up opportunities from limited service.
But it was Messi who finally broke through in the 65th minute, meeting a Marcelo Weigandt cross from the right with a thundering header.
Miami pushed forward in search of the winner but instead they were caught out once again with Pedro Amador's cross from the left headed home at the back post by Polish midfielder Bartosz Slisz.
Inter players were furious that the referee had allowed play to continue while their defender Tomas Aviles lay injured on the floor but their frustration was in vain.
The final whistle brought a deflated silence over Chase Stadium as Miami's season, which so many had expected would end with their first MLS Cup title, concluded with the sight of Guzan and his Atlanta team-mates celebrating.
For Miami head coach Gerardo Martino, who won MLS Cup with Atlanta in 2018, an inquest is sure to follow but he tried to put a brave face on the loss.
"This season has had good and bad things. If you think about where we were in November last year, there has obviously been progress in terms of the club, not just the team. If you think about the expectations we had for this playoffs, obviously we came up a little short," said the Argentine.
Martino said there was a despondent mood in the dressing room.
"The players are sad, as they should be when there are so many expectations and the team can't fulfil them. In this final part of the year we got used to achieving the objectives but we couldn't achieve the most important one," he said.
Former Spain full-back Jordi Alba questioned whether the playoff format was the right approach for MLS.
"I think this format is a bit unfair. It's been done for many years but I think it should be the champion of one conference against the champion of the other, to make it as fair as possible'," said the former Barcelona wing-back.
Atlanta will now face Orlando in the Eastern Conference semi-finals with New York Red Bulls and New York City clashing in the other conference semi.