Inter Miami coach Tata Martino defended his decision to rest Lionel Messi against Montreal on Sunday, despite the team slipping to their first loss of the season without him.
Miami were left to lament Messi's absence as Montreal ran out 3-2 winners at Chase Stadium, where a series of defensive mishaps contributed to the hosts' first defeat of the 2024 campaign.
Both sides scored twice in a frantic final 20 minutes, though it was Sunusi Ibrahim who turned home what proved to be the winner for a jubilant Montreal.
Messi, 36, could only watch on from the stands after Martino decided to rest his star man amid a gruelling schedule of three games in six days.
Miami are set to play Nashville in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 tie on Wednesday, before visiting D.C. United on Saturday.
Despite his absence costing them in the end, Martino stayed firm in his decision to leave Messi out against Montreal, stressing his important players need to be able to last an entire season.
"We talked about it about a week ago and we agreed that this was the game where he had to rest, regardless of what happened in the game with Nashville," the Miami boss said about Messi.
"We also must make sure our team is healthy and can last an entire season."
Alongside Messi, Martino also includes other seasoned former Barcelona stars on his Miami roster, including Jordi Alba, 34, Sergio Busquets, 35, and new signing Luis Suarez, 37.
Busquets and Suarez began Sunday's game on the bench before coming on in the latter part of the second half. However, their entrances failed to ignite a turnaround for victory.
Martino believed his team experienced misfortune on the day, further stating: "I think we more than deserved to win the game. Clearly it was a game we should have won.
"What worries me is that we are a team that does not defend hard in the moments when it has to defend, be it when the ball is in play or on dead-ball situations."