Lionel Messi only played a quarter of the game during Inter Miami's second-round League Cup tie with Nakaxha. The "Herons" had to go through a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw in regular time to win the tournament clash.

Many now believe that the Argentine's injury is a consequence of Messi's busy schedule. Since the start of the season, he has managed to contribute 18 goals and 9 assists in the MLS. He has played five games in 15 days at the age of 38 and it seems that the consequences are not good.

In just over five months, Messi has accumulated 2,571 minutes, and before his recent suspension, he had played 17 consecutive matches in which he played 90 minutes.

The match, although marred by Messi's substitution, was extremely interesting. Telesco Segovia scored the first goal in the 12th minute, but Tomas Badaloni equalized in the 33rd minute. Ricardo Monreal made the complete turnaround in the 81st minute. The final 2:2 in regular time was the work of defender Jordi Alba after a pass from Rodrigo de Pol. The equalizing goal came only in the added time of the match.

Inter Miami was left with a man less in the 17th minute, when Maximiliano Falcon was sent off with a direct red card. The forces were equalized after an hour of play, when Calderon was sent off with a second yellow card.

In the penalty shootout, Rodrigo De Pol, Benjamin Cremaski, Jordi Alba, Redondo and Luis Suarez scored. Goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo saved Nakaxha's third penalty, thus securing a 5:4 victory. |BGNES