Miami had just three regular starters in the lineup that day, Drake Callender, Marcelo Weigandt and Julian Gressel. Messi, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba were left out of the starting lineup to rest, and Sergio Busquets was suspended for yellow card accumulation. Martino was also suspended and watched the game from a stadium suite.

Lionel Messi's every move was on display in his Major League Soccer playoff debut. Every touch. Every shot attempt. Even when he wasn't doing anything at all, it was shown. There was a “Messi-cam” focused on the Inter Miami superstar throughout his team's playoff-opening,

Despite Inter Miami earning the first victory of the best-of-three series in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, Atlanta United didn’t roll over. In fact, momentarily on Friday, the team made the Supporters’s Shield winners look human, including Lionel Messi.