Lionel Messi has continuously proven himself to be an indispensable factor in Inter Miami's success, even when he has not scored or assisted.
In the 3-2 comeback against Montreal, the Argentine striker once again inspired the team to win. However, the way Miami won 3 points was not comfortable.
Recently, all of Miami's games have been in the same scenario: the defense has struggled and conceded first, then waited for the attack to shine.
This time, former Inter Miami player Bryce Duke took the opportunity to bring Montreal 1-0 up in the 22nd minute.
This was the 7th consecutive time Miami have conceded their first goal of the season. That streak started on April 6 against Colorado Rapids and has lasted until now.
In the 32nd minute, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint doubled the gap for Montreal. But in all the MLS games in which Miami have been behind, they have recovered thanks to Messi and Luis Suarez. And this time is no different.
Messi started Matias Rojas' goal to reduce the score, before Suarez took the match back to the starting lineup. Miami completed the comeback with a goal by Benjamin Cremaschi in the 59th minute.
This is a significant difference compared to the match between the two teams on March 10, when Miami lost 2-3 in the context of Messi being treated for a hamstring injury.
And Miami have experienced the same situation against Red Bulls this season: losing 0-4 without Messi at the end of March, then winning 6-2 against their opponents when the Argentine striker contributed 5 assists and 1 goal.
Messi's impact is clear. Miami won 2, drew 4 and lost 6 in all competitions when El Pulga was not on the field, on the contrary, won 15, drew 7 and lost 3 when he was present.
But the defensive problems cannot continue and Miami must quickly learn to deal with the absence of Messi.
Gerardo Martino's side can boast of scoring 35 goals, mostly thanks to Messi and Suarez, but they have also conceded an astonishingly large number of 20.
In the near future, Miami will no longer be able to rely on Messi. The former Barcelona striker will return to join Argentina in the Copa America from June 20 to July 14.
Miami will not have Messi for a month if Argentina reaches the final.
Even if the defending champions only reached the semi-finals, they will still have a third-place match on July 13. That means Messi will miss five MLS games: Philadelphia Union (15.6), Columbus crew (19.6), Nashville SC (29.6), Charlotte FC (3.7) and FC Cincinnati (6.7).
Things are getting worse for Miami if the 36-year-old striker becomes one of three overage players to join the Argentina U23 team in the Olympics from July 24 to August 10.
Miami's attacking options include using the Campana duo with Suarez, which were ineffective in the 0-4 loss to Red Bulls.
Or Suarez could pair up with Robert Taylor and Julian Gressel, as in the 1-1 draw with New York City.
But Suarez is 37 years old and not strong enough to shoulder the role of both goalscorer and creator.
Miami will not be able to find a replacement for Messi. The owner of 8 Ballons d'Or has proven his importance to Miami over and over again.
However, football is not an individual sport and the weeks without Messi will be extremely difficult for Miami.
