Inter Miami: Une belle victoire!
The Herons returned to Major League Soccer action Saturday after spending the entire month of June competing at the Club World Cup.
Jordi Alba and Telasco Segovia share a laugh after Inter Miami CF beat Montreal 4-1 Saturday. CREDIT: Inter Miami CF
Herons set tone for rest of season
Inter Miami CF is on a mission. After surprising the world by advancing to the FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16 in June, the Herons want to prove their success wasn’t a fluke.
Posting a convincing, come-from-behind 4-1 win at Montreal is a good start.
The Herons (9-3-5, 32 points) leapfrogged New York City FC (9-7-4, 31) into sixth place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference. Inter Miami trails new conference leader FC Cincinnati (13-5-3, 42) by 10 points and is just two points behind its intrastate rival, fifth-place Orlando City (9-5-7, 34). But, thanks to its Concacaf Champions Cup and Club World Cup commitments, the Herons have played at least three fewer games than all the teams ahead of them.
Still, those matches won’t matter if Los Garzas can’t turn them into points. Last night’s performance is a good start, but supporters should remember that CF Montreal (3-13-5, 14) is the second-worst team in MLS, behind only last year’s champion Los Angeles Galaxy (2-13-6, 12). They’ll face sterner tests this week at New England (6-7-6, 24) on Wednesday before hosting Nashville SC (12-4-5, 41) — with whom the Herons have some…exciting…history — on Saturday.
Inter Miami seems to have regained its focus and a sense of, if not urgency, renewed purpose. The Herons have been eliminated from two of the three international competitions on its calendar, Champions Cup and Club World Cup, but the Liga MX/MLS Leagues Cup starts at the end of this month and Miami still is very much alive in the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup fields — there’s still plenty to win this season.
And it’s just July. With games in hand, the Supporters Shield (presented to the team with the best regular season record), is still a possibility and, with 17 regular season matches remaining, the Rosa Negra have time to better position themselves for the playoffs. It’s not a sprint to the finish, not yet, nor is it a marathon; it’s more like the 1,500-meter race — the Herons can pace themselves.
Miami master class
Despite the opponent, the Herons played well and showcased their intentions at Stade Saputo. Lionel Messi scored twice and added an assist to lead a Miami attack that was more fluid and direct than it has been most of this MLS season, but it was his errant pass in the Herons’ defensive third that led to Montreal’s only score. With the Bleu et Blanc et Noir pressing, Messi dropped back to help move the ball forward but mishit a backward pass that scooted between central backs Tomas Aviles and Maxi Falcon. Montreal striker Prince Owusu beat Aviles and Falcon to the ball and booted it neatly into Miami’s net for his eighth goal of the season.
The Herons soon sorted the Blue, White and Black’s press and dominated the final two thirds of the match. Tadeo Allende dribbled into the box and blasted a shot inside the near post for a 33rd-minute equalizer, and seven minutes later Messi scored his first. Inter Miami led 2-1 at halftime and added goals by Telasco Segovia and Messi in the 60th and 62nd minutes. All of Miami’s goals were beautiful strikes from the run of play, but Segovia hit an absolute rocket from the top of the box to the top right corner of the net and Messi, 38, turned back the clock with a curving, cutting, careening dribble through several defenders before shifting the ball to his lethal left foot and smashing it into the net. Not all goals are attractive, but last night Miami definitely played “le Beau Jeu” — the Beautiful Game.
Former Inter Miami midfielder Bryce Duke, who played for the Herons all of 2022 and a few games in 2023 before being traded to Montreal in April, made a surprise appearance off the bench. Duke has missed most of the season with injuries and only recently returned to training.
Both coaches substituted heavily beginning in the 69th minute and the sides saw out an uneventful final 27 minutes (with six minutes of added time.)
PLAYER of the MATCH
Messi, with three goal contributions, is the obvious choice. Segovia, Benjamin Cremaschi and Falcon also stood out. Segovia’s technical ability and calm demeanor helped stabilize the Herons’ attack (and that goal! Golasco?) in the midfield, and Cremaschi brought his usual pace and energy to a defensive midfield role. Falcon played one of his better matches for the Herons, using positioning, guile and strength to battle the physically imposing Owusu.
LINEUPS
INTER MIAMI — Ustari; Alba, Aviles, Falcon, Weigandt; Cremaschi, Busquets; Allende, Segovia, Messi; Suarez. BENCH: Rios Novo, Picault, Sailor, Morales, Redondo, Afonso, Martinez, Rodriguez, Obando.
First-year Herons’ coach Javier Mascherano started Oscar Ustari in goal with a back line featuring Jordi Alba, Aviles, Falcon and Chelo Weigandt. Cremaschi and Sergio Busquets played in the defensive midfield, with Allende, Segovia and Messi forward and Luis Suarez as a lone striker. The formation and personnel worked well together, with Segovia and Messi dropping back to help in the midfield and Allende using his pace to stretch Montreal’s defenders vertically. The foul-prone Aviles played with more self-discipline than we’ve seen recently, and Alba and Weigandt were able to get forward in the attack and weren’t really challenged defensively.
Mascherano, who has been criticized for not using his substitutions, brought Balthazar Rodriguez, Federico Redondo and David Martinez in for Segovia, Cremaschi and Aviles in the 72nd minute. Fafa Picault replaced Allende in the 83rd and seldom-used center back Ryan Sailor relieved Falcon in the 87th.
It’s notable that Miami four (five, if Ustari is counted) oldest players remained on the pitch. Conventional wisdom suggests Messi, Alba, Busquets and Suarez will need rest in a busy second half of the season, but Mascherano was their teammate at Barcelona and, hopefully, understands their needs.