“All the players we had on the bench were young" - Tata Martino explains why Lionel Messi played full 90 minutes despite hamstring injury troubles

Inter Miami manager Tata Martino has explained that with not enough experience on the bench in his side's recent 3-1 defeat to Monterrey, he was forced to play Lionel Messi for the entire game. The tactician did not want to send on youngsters while they were chasing the game.

Speaking to the media after the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final loss in Mexico, Martino admitted that he was not happy with the options he had on the bench. He pointed at the inexperience and said (via GOAL):

"All the players we had on the bench were young players, we were not in a situation to use them, 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."

Defender Julian Gressel also commented on the frustrating loss for the MLS side and said:

"It was disappointing to lose here and go out of the competition. We wanted to advance. We knew Monterrey was a very good team and obviously a tough opponent. They played really well and we made some mistakes that ultimately cost us. Hopefully we'll learn from it and we can move on to the next competition and do well."

Lionel Messi was back in the starting XI for Inter Miami for the first time in over a month. However, the Argentine couldn't help his side overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Monterrey as they bowed out of the continental tournament with a 5-2 aggregate defeat.

Monterrey manager clears ‘possessed dwarf' comments on Lionel Messi

Monterrey manager Nico Sanchez recently stated that he did not mean to offend anyone with his ‘possessed dwarf' comments on Lionel Messi. He also said that the Argentine was the greatest player of all time.

He said after the 3-1 win over the MLS side:

"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."

Monterrey will now face Columbus Crew in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi's Inter Miami take on Sporting KC and Nashville SC in their next MLS games.