Things just aren't the same when you can't rely on arguably the greatest soccer player of all time. With Argentine superstar and World Cup-winner Lionel Messi left off the gameday roster due to a muscle injury, Inter Miami slumped to a 2-1 home loss against the Houston Dynamo in Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup final.
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Messi, looking somber and melancholic when the camera cut to him in the stands after the final whistle, could do little else but watch as his team failed to find a way to compensate for his gargantuan absence.