"Unfortunately, we cannot control who will play for our opponents. Messi was unable to attend the match. Therefore, to show our gratitude to the fans who bought tickets to watch today's match (March 3), and came to the stadium in large numbers to support our team, we have decided to give them free tickets to watch the next match of the club in the coming time this season", Houston Dynamo Club announced, after knowing that Inter Miami's match list for the trip to Houston, Texas (USA) did not include famous player Messi.

Houston Dynamo will host Inter Miami at Shell Energy Stadium in the second round of MLS (American professional soccer league) on March 3 (Vietnam time), with 20,656 tickets for the match already sold out in advance. Ticket prices for this match are also unusually high, with some tickets going for up to 500 USD (more than 12.7 million VND), or even higher, due to the attraction of viewers wanting to see the famous player Messi play, according to Marca (Spain).

However, Houston Dynamo fans were disappointed that Messi could not come. Coach Mascherano decided at the last minute to let the famous player stay home to rest, due to Inter Miami's tight schedule.

After the match with Houston Dynamo, Inter Miami will immediately return to their home field to prepare for the match against Cavalier SC (of Jamaica) in the first leg of the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup taking place at 8:00 a.m. on March 7.

Next, they will face Charlotte FC in MLS, also at home, at 3 p.m. on March 10. On March 14, Messi and Inter Miami will travel to Kingston (Jamaica) to meet Cavalier SC again in the second leg of the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Suarez shines in Messi's place

Messi has scored two goals and provided two assists in his last three games for Inter Miami, including two matches in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the MLS opener, a 2-2 draw with New York City FC.

Despite the absence of Messi in the match against Houston Dynamo, the presence of Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba was still enough to help Inter Miami have a dominant match to beat this opponent with a score of 4-1.

Inter Miami's goals were scored by Telasco Segovia (2 goals), Tadeo Allende and Suarez. Suarez, in addition to 1 goal (assisted by Busquets), also contributed 3 other assists for his teammates to score, perfectly replacing the role left by his close friend Messi. Houston Dynamo scored a consolation goal by player Nicolas Lodeiro in the 85th minute.

With a win against Houston Dynamo and a draw on the opening day, Inter Miami with 4 points after 2 matches has risen to 3rd place in the MLS Eastern region rankings, behind Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew (both with 6 points).