MLS All-Stars lose 4-1 to Liga MX All-Stars, featured on NBC Sports Bay Area
Juan Brunetta and Maximiliano Mesa scored a minute apart in the second half to give Mexico’s Liga MX All-Stars a 4-1 victory over Major League Soccer All-Stars in the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday night.
Brunetta (Tigres) scored in transition to make the score 3-1 in the 68th minute and assisted Mesa (Monterrey) on a goal soon after in front of a record crowd of 20,931 at Lower.com Field.
It was Liga MX’s third MLS All-Star Game victory, having previously won in 2022 and prevailed in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw the previous year.
While there were plenty of big names on the field, the absence of its brightest player took some of the luster out of the tournament: Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi will be unable to play due to ligament damage in his right ankle, the league announced on Monday.
The 2022 World Cup champion sustained the injury during Argentina’s win over Colombia in the Copa America final on July 14.
Fans roared when Columbus’ forwards combined to tie the game at 1-1 in the 17th minute, about a minute after Mexico’s Germán Berterame of Monterrey scored with a header.
Down the left wing, Diego Rossi found Crew teammate Cucho Hernandez who, unmarked, raced down the center of the box to score the equalizer.
Oussama Idrissi (Pachuca) scored from the top of the penalty area in the 41st minute to make the score 2-1.
MLS had two chances to tie the game in the 63rd minute, when Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy) hit the crossbar with a shot, then Luca Orellano (Cincinnati) had a shot blocked on the goal line by Unai Bilbao (Tijuana).
A few minutes later, Liga MX sealed the win.
Crew’s Wilfried Nancy was the coach of the MLS All-Stars, and his squad had five players from the 2023 MLS Cup winning squad. In addition to Hernandez and Rossi, they included midfielder Darlington Nagbe and defenders Rudy Camacho and Steven Moreira.