Messi and the controversial tomato pizza after the loss to Atlanta United

Inter Miami were beaten 5-2 by Atlanta United in a match was marked by the absence of Lionel Messi, the second he has missed this week due to muscle fatigue, as manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino argued in the face of speculation that he was nursed off the artificial turf at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

Another of Las Garzas' star signings, Jordi Alba, was also absent. Atlanta thrashed Columbus 6-1 on March 25 and also scored five goals in a 5-1 win over Portland on March 18.

While Leo Campana scored two goals for Inter Miami, one of which was a wonder goal, and another on a penalty kick, the controversy came with a post from Atlanta after the win over Inter Miami.

In the post you can see a pizza with a tomato in the shape of an L and the following text: "Here is your pizza for the trip".

But why did Atlanta United do this? The explanation comes from Leo Messi. The Argentinian, who was not in the squad, posted shortly before the start of the clash on his Instagram account and was more than happy to get one of the classic Buenos Aires pizzas in Miami: Banchero.

In a short video in which he was seen opening the box, he revealed that his favourite is the Neapolitan pizza. He then thanked the Miami-based restaurant.

It is a defeat that leaves Inter Miami in fourteenth place in the Eastern Conference with 28 points from 27 games. A complicated situation in which they still have seven games to play and in which they urgently need to win the rest of the matches in order to reach the Playoffs.