The Daily Heron: Old foes Chiellini and Messi meet again Sunday when LAFC hosts Inter Miami

Giorgio Chiellini: “We cannot focus just on Messi"

Giorgio Chiellini, the long-time captain of Italian powerhouse Juventus and the Italian national team, now plays for LAFC. He isn’t surprised at Messi’s MLS success.

"I knew, but now maybe all the Americans are understanding better and better what he’s capable of."

- LAFC defender Giorgio Chiellini

Inter Miami, Messi relocate from L.A. hotel amid worker strike….

Soccer solidarity? Inter Miami has changed hotels to honor a workers’ strike, according to the MLS Players Association. The Herons had planned to stay at the Fairmont Miramar in Los Angeles before its match Sunday against LAFC.

"The players themselves really wanted to do the right thing and stand with the workers."

- Maria Hernandez, union spokeswoman

Let’s hope this gesture doesn’t become a distraction during this crucial stretch of the season. The last thing we need is wacko culture warriors trying to politicize Inter Miami.

10 games, 11 goals: is Messi still brilliant or is MLS defending terrible?

Spoiler alert: In this well-written and well-researched piece, Tom Dart writing for Yahoo! Sports explains that it’s both. But despite the title, this piece doesn’t bash the American first division (much), and uses advanced stats and analytics to compare Inter Miami’s Messi to the Leo who played his last year at Barcelona and PSG. Worth reading.