Inter Miami at New York Red Bulls: Will Lionel Messi debut in MLS Saturday or be rested by Tata Martino?

Messi has yet to get a break with Inter Miami and just went 120 minutes on Wednesday night

By Chuck Booth

Aug 26, 2023 at 10:00 am ET • 3 min read

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The matches are coming fast and furious for Inter Miami now. They've just completed a run of three games in eight days, and it won't be stopping anytime soon. On Saturday the Herons will travel to face the New York Red Bulls for their first MLS game in over a month. While the team hasn't been playing league fixtures, this has been the most fruitful month in their history with Lionel Messi leading Inter Miami to a Leagues Cup trophy and the final of the U.S. Open Cup which will be held at DRV PNK Stadium on Sept. 27.

Getting back to MLS play, Tata Martino is faced with a few issues. While Messi is critical to Miami's play, he has now played 684 minutes since joining Miami. Martino spoke about it after the match saying, "From this point forward, we will have to evaluate how we approach these next three games."

Miami are 14 points behind the line for ninth place and a playoff spot but they face the New York Red Bulls, Nashville SC, and Los Angeles FC in those three games that Martino mentioned. Not only are Nashville and LAFC among the best teams in the league, the Nashville match is also a home game where the Leagues Cup trophy will be presented to the home faithful. Minutes management is part of why Martino had to play a new 3-5-2 formation against FC Cincinnati and it's rotation that will have to continue as well.

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There's the reality that any player, whether they're 20 or 36, would need time off after playing as many minutes as Messi has. The same goes for Sergio Busquets and even center back Sergiy Kryvtsov who picked up a knock during the Open Cup final, although he did continue in the match. [Tata] Martino has the unenviable job of managing all of this while also leading Miami through three different competitions.

The club has already won one, and they now don't need to think about Open Cup play for another month while Martino can focus on MLS play. Looking at the upcoming schedule, if there's any time to get rotation in, it's this match versus the Red Bulls. Part of the reason why is that the Herons now know where creativity will come from when Messi isn't on the pitch. That source is 20-year-old Facundo Farias.

Another new signing from Colon, Farias made his debut in the Open Cup final and was able to draw a free kick that Messi used to assist Leonardo Campana for one of the goals to start the Herons' comeback. A lively dribbler, Farias will be able to make things happen and can be a direct threat against the Red Bulls.

While it would be great for Messi to make his MLS debut in the starting XI, it's an unrealistic expectation, and young players like Farias will be just as important for Miami overturning this deficit in the league as Messi will be. Martino is doing the best that he can to take every competition seriously and it shows in the club's recent results, but it's proper man management that will be needed to truly fight for playoff contention and fitness.