Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami live score: MLS playoff updates as Guzan mistake gifts Messi’s side opening goal

By | November 2, 2024
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After helping secure the club’s first MLS playoff victory, Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami on the road at Atlanta United searching for their series win.

The Herons won their Round One opener 2-1 on goals from Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, the latter of which was a dramatic late winner of the highest quality. The best-of-three series now moves to Mercedes-Benz Stadium where the hosts, who reached this stage as wild-card winners, will hope to pull themselves out of the deficit.

Atlanta had been a thorn in Inter Miami’s side all season, securing four points from their two league meetings before pushing the Herons to the brink in their playoff game a week ago, with Saba Lobzhanidze scoring in all three games. Yet Alba’s strike lifted the hosts to a first win in three tries against their Round One opponents this year at the most opportune of times.

A victory for Inter Miami here would send them through to the Eastern Conference semifinals in a two-game sweep, while an Atlanta United win would see the series move back to Ft. Lauderdale for a winner-takes-all decider the following weekend.

The Sporting News is following the Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

MORE: 2024 MLS Cup playoff bracket, schedule, results, highlights

Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami live score

  Score (1H) Goal scorers
Atlanta United 0 –
Inter Miami 1 D. Martinez (40′)

Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA)
Kickoff: 7:10 p.m. ET / 4:10 p.m. PT
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

Starting lineups:

Atlanta United (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Guzan (GK) — 2. R. Hernandez, 4. Abram, 3. D. Williams, 18. Amador — 6. Slisz, 13. McCarty — 9. Lobzhanidze, 59. Miranchuk, 35. Fortune — 29. Thiare

Inter Miami (3-4-3, right to left): 1. Callender (GK) — 6. Aviles, 14. D. Martinez, 32. Allen — 57. Weigandt, 42. Bright, 55. Redondo, 18. Alba — 10. Messi, 9. Suarez, 20. D. Gomez.

MORE: Find out how to stream the Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami match LIVE

Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami live updates, highlights from MLS playoffs

45+1 min: The game’s first yellow card is shown to Ronald Hernandez who drags Diego Gomez down by his arm after being beaten on the dribble. To be fair to Hernandez, Gomez had his trailing arm all over the Atlanta defender’s face.

40th min: GOAL! INTER MIAMI! An incredibly fluky goal opens the scoring! Brad Guzan goes to punt the ball, and he simply…slips at the moment of contact and drops the ball! There was still lots of work for David Martinez to do, and the center-back produces an absolutely beautiful chip over the remaining defenders to finish into the open net!

Guzan believes he was obstructed, but it passes a VAR check and stands!

34th min: Lionel Messi hasn’t had much influence on the match tonight, but he finally gets on the ball at full pace down the right and sends a cross to the middle, but it’s behind all his attackers who appeared to each be marked pretty tightly.

Messi cooked Franco Amador to that ball down the line though.

28th min: Chance, Atlanta United! WHAT A SAVE BY DRAKE CALLENDER! Aleksey Miranchuk delivers a howitzer from distance that’s tracking just under the crossbar, but the Inter Miami goalkeeper acrobatically tips it over the crossbar at full stretch!

The hosts are cooking now, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium is in full voice!

26th min: Chance, Atlanta United! A pair of crosses from Pedro Amador on the left result in two successive headed chances for Atlanta United. First, Dax McCarty’s ambitious attempt from the top of the penalty area is blocked, but Ronald Hernandez has a huge chance right on the goal mouth but puts it wide right! A huge missed opportunity!

24th min: Chances at both ends, but neither team gets a shot off! Jordi Alba’s cross from the left evades two Inter Miami attackers in the penalty area, too far behind one and in front of another. Then, Atlanta United break down the other end incredibly fast, 

17th min: As if Atlanta United needed more injuries to deal with, Ajani Fortune is down with what appears to be an ankle injury. He took a knock earlier in the match and goes down to the ground off the ball. He limps to the sideline after treatment and will try to give it a go, but he may need to be replaced.

16th min: Dax McCarty gets a talking-to from the referee after fouling Lionel Messi. He’s upset with the call, but it’s the right decision as he forced Messi to go airborne to avoid the challenge from the side.

13th min: Inter Miami looked the better side through the first few minutes, but Atlanta United have built themselves into the match and have their first real chance, but let the visitors off the hook. A corner is recycled with a dangerous ball into the area by Miranchuk, but it sails just inches over the head of Hernandez right on the doorstep.

3rd min: Chance, Inter Miami! Brad Guzan is nearly tested twice in quick succession! First a cross to the far post is just inches away from a sliding Diego Gomez, and on the recycle Luis Suarez fires from distance with an effort that just skies high of the crossbar! Guzan lept high in the hopes of tipping it over, but the chance just barely evades both the net and his fingertips.

Kickoff: They’re under way at Mercedes-Benz Stadium! We’ll see if Brad Guzan and Seba Lobzhanidze can recreate their Game One magic or if Inter Miami will take the match in convincing fashion!

Something to keep in mind as we go forward is the color of Brad Guzan’s goalkeeper kit. It’s exactly the same as Miami’s third kit.

Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more

15 mins to kickoff: Inter Miami fans have made the trip to watch their side’s attempt to secure the club’s first-ever playoff series victory.

30 mins to kickoff: The MLS Cup playoff format this season makes the stakes on each game crystal clear. Today, Inter Miami win and they’re into the Eastern Conference semifinals, while Atlanta United must win or they’re eliminated. All draws advance to a penalty shootout.

45 mins to kickoff: It took a little longer, but we now have the Inter Miami starting lineup. Noah Allen starts at the back as Tata Martino goes with three central defenders, at the expense of a midfielder with Sergio Busquets dropping out of the squad. It appears he was unable to recover in time after missing training yesterday with an illness.

1 hour to kickoff: The Atlanta United lineup is out, and the only changes to the XI are the two forced by injury. Ronald Hernandez and Luis Abram coming in along the back line for Brooks Lennon and Stian Gregersen, both of whom went down with injuries during the first leg of this playoff matchup last weekend.

Lennon does not appear in the squad, but Gregersen is available off the bench.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: Inter Miami are wearing their incredible third kit tonight. The primary color is the same teal as the Dolphins, and for some reason I get major Flint Tropics vibes from them. They’re excellent threads.

1 hour 30 mins to kick: Reports have emerged this afternoon that Lionel Messi has planned to attend the gala on November 29 to celebrate the 125th anniversary of his former club Barcelona. That would mean a quick turnaround should Inter Miami reach the Eastern Conference finals, as the game would take place on either November 30 or December 1.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: In an interview with FourFourTwo, former Inter Miami captain DeAndre Yedlin gave an inside look at what it’s like to be Lionel Messi’s teammate.

He had nothing but nice things to say about the Argentina star, telling the story about the first time Messi popped up in their team group chat to help secure tickets to Messi’s unveiling.

“Messi popped up in the group chat like five minutes later and asked, ‘Hey Leo, how many do you need?’ It was the first engagement we all had with him, at least for the English speakers. It showed compassion for someone he didn’t really know at that time; he didn’t have to do that, but it speaks to the person he is. That was pretty cool to see.”

2 hours to kickoff: As his season nears a conclusion, Lionel Messi has been thinking about life after his playing days are over. The 37-year-old told transfer guru Fabrizio Romano this past week that while he hasn’t decided on a path for after he retires as a player just yet, he knows he is not interested in becoming a coach.

“I don’t know what I would like to do after I retire,” Messi said. “I wouldn’t like to be a coach, but everything is not clear yet. I am someone who likes to live day by day so for now I just think about playing, training and having fun on the pitch.”

Messi has indicated in the recent past that he would potentially be open to a role as a sporting director, but at this point it sounds like that won’t be on his mind until he is done as a player.

Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami kickoff time

This MLS Cup playoff match kicks off from Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, November 2 at 7 p.m. local time in Atlanta.

Here’s how that time translates across the time zones in North America:

  Date Kickoff time
Eastern Time Sat, Nov. 2 7 p.m.
Central Time Sat, Nov. 2 6 p.m.
Mountain Time Sat, Nov. 2 5 p.m.
Pacific Time Sat, Nov. 2 4 p.m.

Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami lineups, team news, starting 11

Atlanta United found out this week that Edwin Mosquera will likely miss the rest of the playoffs after requiring knee surgery. 

Injuries to Brooks Lennon and Stian Gregersen in the first leg leave them unable to make the starting lineup. Lennon suffered a dislocated shoulder and does not make the squad, and replacing him as the team’s minutes leader this season will be tough. Gregersen pulled up with a hamstring injury, but recovers enough to make the bench.

Atlanta United starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Brad Guzan (GK) — Ronald Hernandez, Luis Abram, Derrick Williams, Pedro Amador — Bartosz Slisz, Dax McCarty — Seba Lobzhanidze, Aleksey Miranchuk, Ajani Fortune — Jamal Thiare.

Atlanta United subs (9): Cohen (GK), Brennan, Gregersen, Cobb, Edwards, Muyumba, Rios, Silva, Wolff.

Like Atlanta United, Inter Miami also picked up an injury to a defender in the first leg. While there were fears that Ian Fray had suffered a gut-wrenching fourth ACL tear, reports claim that he escaped with only an MCL injury, which will keep him out for the rest of the season but not threaten his 2025 campaign.

Otherwise, Inter Miami are in good shape overall. Nicolas Freire and Facundo Farias have been missing with their ACL recoveries, while David Ruiz sits out with a hamstring tear and Leo Afonso is sidelined with a groin injury. Sergio Busquets fails to make the squad due to illness.

Inter Miami starting lineup (3-4-3): Drake Callender (GK) — Tomas Aviles, David Martinez, Noah Allen — Marcelo Weigandt, Yannick Bright, Federico Redondo, Jordi Alba — Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Diego Gomez.

Inter Miami subs (9): Dos Santos (GK), Negri, Sailor, Cresmaschi, Gressel, Sunderland, Rojas, Campana, Taylor.

Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami live stream, TV channel


This MLS Cup playoff Round One match will be streamed exclusively on MLS Season Pass from Apple TV.

Apple is giving fans a great chance to catch every single match of the MLS Cup playoffs for one low price. New subscribers can sign up for MLS Season Pass for just $9.99 to get all playoff matches from now through the MLS Cup final. Meanwhile, those with a current Apple TV+ subscription can sign up for MLS Season Pass for free on top of their active account.

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