MIAMI — After Saturday's final whistle, Inter Miami CF head coach Gerardo Martino addressed the media with a calm but serious facade, knowing he would have to answer a series of questions about another questionable performance.
For the second straight game, Miami dropped points at home, drawing 3-3 with St. Louis City at Chase Stadium. The team failed to secure the lead in 90 minutes of action, constantly playing catch-up against a faster Western Conference opponent.
The Herons rarely shy away from the fight needed to complete a comeback, especially with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez leading the way. The lethal duo previously led Miami to 18 points out of 35 in that dramatic fashion, as either Suarez or Messi scored in all six come-from-behind wins of the 2024 MLS season.
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Now, Inter Miami will have to prove themselves without key figures, as Messi joins the Argentina squad for the Copa America and Suarez is likely to be called up by Uruguay in the coming days. There are no longer starting formations to put into practice or players to analyze before being subjected to the definitive test. Martino will now be forced to face the difficult MLS schedule without some of his best players.
So, who will replace Messi and Suárez in Miami's attack? The two constantly work to present a confident and capable offense to overcompensate for a weak defense. 32 of Inter Miami's 42 goals in the MLS season have come from a goal or assists from Messi or Suárez, a shocking 76% of the total. Three of every four goals that the Garzas score are a consequence of one of the two South American stars.
And the deadly duo proved their worth again on Saturday, propelling the team forward in the most desperate of times.
In the first half, Inter Miami conceded the first goal for the 12th time this season, after Chris Durkin fired a right-footed shot into the top right corner of the goal from outside the box. Jordi Alba and Federico Redondo watched helplessly as the ball found the back of the net, knowing that a comeback victory was now essential. And as he did against Nashville SC on April 20 and the New England Revolution on April 27, Messi found the equalizer with his own left-footed rocket. After weaving around three defenders, he initiated the scoring play by finding Alba on the left and instructing his former Barcelona teammate to pass to him once inside the area.
Throughout this season, Messi's teammates in Miami have looked for their magic when it comes to moving forward, resulting in the Argentine ranking third in the league for most goals with 12 and first for most assists with nine. It was no different against St. Louis, as midfielders Redondo and Sergio Busquets got the ball to Messi in the quickest way, regardless of whether he was in a position to receive a pass or not.
But their efforts provided little comfort to the home team, after another defensive error by Sergii Kryvtsov inspired St. Louis City to regain the lead with a goal from former Herons star Indiana Vassilev. In a one-on-one, Kryvtsov failed to maintain the pace needed to stop Vassilev or complete the tackle needed to prevent the goal. The Ukrainian, on the other hand, left goalkeeper Drake Callender facing an impossible situation.
The struggling backline has been a topic of debate for Inter Miami with a whopping 27 goals against, tied for fourth-most goals conceded in the Eastern Conference with last-place New England Revolution. Martino previously revealed that it is the most talked about topic during training and before a match.
But Suarez came to the rescue this time for Miami, mirroring the efforts he showed against the New York Red Bulls on May 4 and CF Montreal on May 11 to calm nerves by bringing the score back to 2-2. Although his heroics were momentarily cut short by an own goal, Alba vindicated the team with a third to tie the match at 3-3.
Still, Inter Miami's consensus was clear after the match: Messi's efforts inspired a point.
“Leo was practically responsible for participating in the attack. He was involved in defining the shots, and insisted throughout the game. He finished the game well and now he will do what he has done all his life, which is play.” for Argentina,” Martino said.
On April 27, Martino revealed that the objective was to add 24 points in the eight games remaining before the Copa América and the Olympic Games, but the Herons only achieved 17. The team will be without its best player, and several other figures, for five games. : Philadelphia Union (June 15), Columbus Crew (June 19), Nashville SC (June 29), Charlotte FC (July 3) and FC Cincinnati (July 6).
The Messi-Suárez safety net will come loose and Inter Miami players will have to deal with the consequences of a broken defensive line.
The situation becomes dire for Inter Miami with the realization that upcoming opponents will likely lose one, if any, players during the international window.
“When we have Leo, all the teams play against us as if it were a final. So we have to play each game as if it were a final if we want to achieve what we aspire to,” said defender Marcelo Weigandt.
Now, Martino must anticipate more difficult matches as opponents see the opportunity to dethrone Inter Miami from first place in the Eastern Conference table.
