MIAMI — In the second match of the Leagues Cup, Inter Miami CF fell 2-1 to Mexican club C.F. Monterrey on Saturday night.

Miami was without superstar Lionel Messi, who traveled back to Argentina following the tragic passing of his father, Jorge Messi.

The club was also without Luis Suarez, who is serving a six-game suspension stemming from last season’s Leagues Cup final.

With Messi unavailable, academy forward Lovens Delinois made his first-team debut alongside fellow academy forward Daniel Pinter.

Before kickoff, the stadium held a moment of silence for Messi’s late father, with players, coaches and fans paying their respects.

Once the match got underway, it was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams showing plenty of aggression in attack.

Miami nearly opened the scoring in spectacular fashion. A dangerous buildup led to a clear shot on goal, but the Monterrey goalkeeper came up with a fantastic save. The rebound fell to another Miami player, only for the keeper to make another acrobatic stop. Somehow, he made a third save moments later, keeping Miami off the scoresheet and forcing a corner.

The sequence gave Rayados a huge momentum boost, and the Mexican side quickly turned up the pressure, earning a corner of its own.

Miami dealt with the corner and quickly went the other way. The clearance sparked a fast-break opportunity, but Telasco Segovia’s shot narrowly missed the net.

Monterrey responded with a dangerous passing sequence that eventually led to a shot on goal, but Rocco Rios Novo was there to make the save.

Then, out of nowhere, stand-in captain Rodrigo De Paul delivered a moment of magic.

De Paul unleashed a stunning strike from outside the box, curling the ball into the bottom-left corner and just beyond the reach of the Rayados goalkeeper to give Miami a 1-0 lead.

Immediately after scoring, De Paul removed his jersey to reveal a Messi jersey underneath. He dedicated the goal to his teammate and Messi’s late father, Jorge. De Paul was shown a yellow card for excessive celebration.

The goal did little to slow Rayados. Monterrey continued to pressure Miami’s defense, forcing Novo into another massive save to preserve the lead.

Miami took its 1-0 advantage into halftime.

The lead, however, lasted only two minutes into the second half.

Before many fans had even returned to their seats, Monterrey found the equalizer in the 47th minute, scoring off a rebound from another Novo save. Miami’s advantage disappeared in an instant.

After the equalizer, both sides had opportunities, but neither could find the breakthrough. The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 through the 60th minute.

From there, the match became a cagey, gritty battle, with neither team able to consistently create dangerous chances.

Had the match ended 1-1 after regulation, it would have gone to a penalty shootout to determine the winner.

With five minutes remaining, both teams appeared content to see the match head toward penalties. Sloppy passes and fouls became more frequent as the intensity increased.

The sloppiness continued, resulting in a flurry of yellow cards, with three handed out in a span of four minutes.

Then came the heartbreak for Miami.

Poor defending left Monterrey’s Diego Rossi with a wide-open chance in the final moments, and he made no mistake, giving the Mexican side a 2-1 lead.

The goal instantly sucked the energy out of the crowd.

Miami could not find another equalizer, falling 2-1 and suffering its first loss since May 2.

Inter Miami will look to bounce back Wednesday in its final Leagues Cup group-stage match against León.

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