In the latter stages of October, Messi and Co ran out 2–1 victors in the first game against Atlanta with former Barcelona duo Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba among the goalscorers.
The Herons – spearheaded by the World Cup winner – were on the receiving end of a 2–1 loss just days later, however, as former West Ham United man Xante Silva thumped in his side’s second of the game in the 94th minute.
Messi, widely recognised as one of the best players – aged 35 and over – in world football, was unable to inspire his side to a victory – but that hasn’t hampered their chances of going all the way and adding more silverware to his illustrious cabinet.
In the majority of divisions across the globe, especially those in Europe, the game that ended 2-1 would typically go to extra time and, potentially, penalties in order to settle the score and decide who secures passage into the next round.
That’s because Round One of the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup is played to the best of three, meaning that Inter Miami’s two games against Atalanta – taking their record to 1-1 in the series – will be taken to a third game.
Even if last night’s win ended in a draw, a best-of-three match would still be played as Atlanta would still have every chance to match Inter Miami’s record of one win, thus triggering extra time or penalties.
In fact, none of the fixtures are able to be a) tied either with a draw or b) be settled by a penalty shootout. As such, in order to determine who goes through to the quarter-finals, the Round One series will be decided in a game at 01:00am (GMT) on Sunday, November 10. David Beckham-owned Inter Miami will host the final leg of their three-outing contest against Atlanta as they won the Supporters’ Shield for the best regular season award.