Nathan Ordaz scored in the 57th minute, and Los Angeles FC kept Lionel Messi off the scoresheet Wednesday night in a 1-0 victory over Inter Miami in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal matchup, AP reports.

Messi had produced a goal (5) or an assist (2) in each of his first six Champions Cup appearances since joining Miami two years ago, including three goals in the early rounds of this year’s tournament.

After returning from injury only last weekend, Messi played the entire match in Los Angeles. He put two of his five shots on target, but Hugo Lloris stopped both chances.

“I think (Messi) always had a black jersey in front of him, and that’s the point,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “You can’t always defend him, nor can you always shut down Jordi Alba, (Sergio) Busquets, (Luis) Suárez. … Those guys are going to get a chance or two, and the only way to defend players of that quality and teams of that quality is with a collective effort.”

The loss was the first of 2025 for Miami, which had won seven straight matches across all competitions while starting 8-0-1 under new coach Javier Mascherano.

“It was a game that we expected,” Mascherano said after his first defeat with Miami. “We know LA. They have good players, and they have players in front that can (make) the difference. But I think we controlled them almost all the game in a good way. Obviously, we didn’t have the best night tonight, but in the end, it’s the first leg. We have the next game next week, and we will see. I believe that we can do the right things to (get) through.”

The clubs meet again in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, April 9, for the second leg of the quarterfinal.

The aggregate winner advances to the semifinals to face MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps or Liga MX’s Pumas, who played to a 1-1 draw in their first leg.

LAFC, which finished as the runner-up in this tournament in 2020 and 2023, ended its 0-4-1 skid over the previous 3 1/2 weeks with a strong performance on both ends against powerhouse Miami, which leads the MLS standings at 4-0-1.