By James Nalton
Bouncing back
It was a disappointing week for Inter Miami as they were defeated 3-1 at home by the Whitecaps in the Champions Cup, losing the semifinal tie 5-1 on aggregate.
They will be looking to bounce back against the Red Bulls, but the continental exit might be difficult to recover from initially.
In addition to the MLS Cup playoffs, which don’t begin until much later in the year, the Champions Cup was one of the big prizes head coach Javier Mascherano, along with Messi and co., were prioritising this season.
They will need to ensure this disappointment doesn’t carry over into their league performances and instead use it as motivation to show their quality in MLS before they break for the Club World Cup in June.
Defensive issues emerge
Inter Miami’s previous MLS game, a 4-3 defeat to FC Dallas, and the 5-1 aggregate defeat to Vancouver, exposed some underlying defensive issues in the team.
It looked like Mascherano had shored them up and made them difficult to beat, but the weaknesses lay beneath the surface, behind the scorelines.
It’s strange that the team with the joint-fewest goals conceded in MLS going into that game against Dallas was still perceived to have a vulnerable defence, but this was often on show during the games themselves.
Their xG-against also goes some way to showing why this is the case. They were conceding chances but those weren’t always converted into goals by the opposition.
Even after conceding four against Dallas, their xG-against of 13.7 is still higher than actual goals conceded (10), suggesting some poor opposition finishing, good Inter Miami goalkeeping, or luck.
What it certainly suggests is Mascherano’s team still need to improve defensively.
Messi contribution expected
Lionel Messi is currently four games without a goal or an assist in all competitions for Inter Miami.
It is his longest such run when starting games since joining the club in 2023, so he will be expected to get back in among the goals, or at least make an assist, in this game.
He has three goals and two assists in the six of Miami’s nine games he has played in this season.
The team and the fans will be looking to him to get them out of this mini slump.
Charging Red Bulls?
The visiting Red Bulls remain one of the most active pressing teams in MLS, which could cause Miami problems during build-up play.
On the whole, though, Sandro Schwarz’s side are yet to convince this season.
Their mid-table position reflects their inconsistent start, and they only scraped past Montréal last week to claim their fourth win of the year. They are yet to pick up a win away from home.
Emil Forsberg could pose a threat to the Miami defence from an attacking midfield position, while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is the club’s top scorer with four, despite an indifferent start to life in MLS.
Prediction
Now they only have the league to focus on, Inter Miami should recover from a three-game losing streak in all competitions and get back to winning ways.
(Cover Image from IMAGO)
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