Inter Miami’s 2024 season is over after the Herons suffered a shock first-round elimination in the MLS play-offs by the hands of Atlanta United.
A thrilling game at Chase Stadium ended with Bartosz Slisz scoring a 76th-minute winner to claim a 3-2 win for Atlanta and to eliminate Inter Miami from the post-season, with the Florida franchise heading into the play-offs as MLS Cup favorites.
Having won the Supporters’ Shield and set a new regular-season points record, Inter Miami’s early exit from the play-offs is nothing short of a shock, with Atlanta securing one of the biggest surprises in post-season history.
And manager Tata Martino has now shared how Inter Miami are feeling after the defeat.
Inter Miami ‘sad’ after MLS play-off defeat to Atlanta
Speaking to the press, the Argentine coach noted how Inter Miami’s players are ‘sad’ after such a shock loss against Atlanta, with Lionel Messi and company unable to end the year on a high with another piece of silverware.
Having gone into this season with dreams of winning MLS Cup, to fall flat at the first hurdle is nothing short of a huge disappointment for Inter Miami, who could now view this year and their project with Messi as a failure.
And for Martino, the Inter Miami manager has a lot to think about between now and next year, with the MLS Cup-winning coach saying: “If you think about the expectations we had for the play-offs, we evidently fell too short.
“They’re sad, as they should be. As it should be when there’s so much expectation and the team can’t meet it. In the final stretch of the year we’d gotten used to achieving our objectives, and we weren’t able to achieve the most important one.”
Inter Miami will view this year as a failure after play-off loss
Having won the Supporters’ Shield with a record-breaking points total, there was real optimism surrounding Inter Miami going into the play-offs, especially with their first opponents being the lowest-seeded team in the Easter Conference.
Yet Atlanta dug deep and pulled off one of the biggest shocks in MLS play-off history, with Inter Miami’s season now over at the first hurdle of the post-season with Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets all on the field.
And Inter Miami will have to view 2024 as a failure having failed to win MLS Cup, the trophy that was set out from the very beginning to be the end goal for the Herons after their incredible recruitment drive in the last 12 months.