Lionel Messi subjected to Cristiano Ronaldo taunt on miserable night for Inter Miami

Inter Miami talisman Lionel Messi was on the receiving end of some playful jeers from Monterrey’s fans as they chanted the name of old foe Cristiano Ronaldo en route to a famous victory.

There has been no love lost between the two clubs in recent weeks, with a war of words having mired the first leg of the tie in Florida. After a tense affair on the pitch, opposition players and coaches engaged in a bitter debate in the tunnel in the aftermath of Monterrey’s 2-1 victory in Miami.

As was the case in the first instalment, Miami were reduced to ten men in the return game in Mexico as they slumped to a 3-1 loss to bring their CONCACAF Champions Cup adventure to an abrupt end. The home side dominated the second leg, racing into a three-goal lead before Messi and co. conjured up a late consolation strike through Diego Gomez.

The spectators packed into the 53,500-capacity Estadio BBVA could not resist having a laugh at the expense of the Miami skipper, either. One clip that went viral on social media showed fans chanting the name of Messi’s nemesis Ronaldo as they celebrated their third goal of the night.

Reflecting, Miami head coach Gerardo Martino gave an honest assessment of what he had observed across the tie, saying: “Today’s defeat takes away the illusion that we have to keep moving forward in this competition. We’ve competed well in the first game against Monterrey and in this one we did until Berterame’s goal, that’s when the series ended.”

“All the players we had on the bench were young players, we were not in a situation to use them,” he continued, as he appeared to concede that a lack of squad depth was a factor in their undoing. “I did not want to throw them into adverse conditions, so I felt it was best to finish the game with the players who started.”

As for his counterpart in the opposition dugout, Monterrey’s boss Fernando Ortiz confessed that he was delighted to have overcome a team boasting a plethora of household names. Still it appears that the Rayados helmsman is focused on quickly moving on from the victory as he looked forward to their next Liga MX clash.

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Lionel Messi put in a subdued performance as Inter Miami lost against Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions Cup

“As a coach, I’m happy to eliminate a great team. Gerardo (Martino) and Leo (Messi) are a great coach and player who are recognized worldwide,” he said, as he fired some praise the way of the Herons’ head coach and talisman. “We have the satisfaction to win the series, but we are thinking of Tigres.

He also addressed the furore that had surrounded the first leg of the tie, with leaked comments from Monterrey’s assistant manager having made worldwide headlines. In leaked audio which was obtained by Fox Sports MX, Nico Sánchez was heard engaging in a war of words with Messi, Martino, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez.

The coming together is reported to have occurred in the tunnel following the Mexican giants’ 2-1 win over Miami, with Sánchez supposedly said to have spoken about Vice City’s captain disparagingly. Among the insults directed towards the Argentine was an alleged remark calling Messi a ‘possessed swarf’, with ‘the face of the devil’.

Playing peacemaker, Ortiz later reflected: “I said that we were going to beat them, not for a lack of respect for Miami, just because I thought that my players would understand what needed to be done. To me, Leo is the greatest player of all time, I did not mean to offend anyone, I just gave an honest opinion.”