Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are back in action on Wednesday night.
Miami will take on FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium in Ohio in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. The match will mark Messi’s eighth with the club, and first since leading the franchise to a remarkable Leagues Cup victory.
Messi has scored 10 goals in just seven matches with the club, including one in their win over Nashville on Saturday. That won them the Leagues Cup championship, which marked Inter Miami’s first trophy of any kind. It also capped what has been a wild turnaround for Major League Soccer’s worst club.
Though the 36-year-old star has played constantly for Miami — Wednesday’s match is their sixth in the last 22 days — coach Gerardo Martino has no plans to rest Messi just yet.
“We said that at some point he would have to rest because of the load of minutes played,” Martino said Monday. “Clearly, Wednesday is not going to be that day. If he does tell me he wants to rest, he will continue to play.”
The winner of Wednesday’s match will advance to the U.S. Open Cup finals. Real Salt Lake and the Houston Dynamo are playing in the other semifinals match.
Messi will finally make his MLS debut on Saturday, when Miami takes on the New York Red Bulls.
Keep up with Miami’s match with Cincinnati here with Yahoo Sports:
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