No Messi, But Suarez Deals Blow to Fire

Chicago Fire 1-4 Inter Miami

CHICAGO, IL–Lionel Messi was missing for a second straight year in Chicago. No problem for Inter Miami CF with a four-goal effort with two of them from Luis Suarez as they rolled past the host Chicago Fire 4-1 at Soldier Field on Saturday night.

Inter Miami won the season series over Chicago with a 2-1 victory in an earlier meeting in Fort Lauderdale. They also avenged a 4-1 loss from last year at Soldier Field as Messi missed that match with an injury.

With the win, Inter Miami, which already had clinched a playoff spot, widened its lead in the Eastern Conference with 59 points and seven matches remaining, eight points ahead of second-place Cincinnati.

“Luis (Suarez) was probably the best player on the field, but I don’t want to focus only on the goals because that is normal for him,” Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino said. “I prefer to focus on his game as a whole, the ball circulation and all the passes to midfielders and because of that we can play in other parts of the field. He did that very well.”

Messi has resumed training with his teammates the past few weeks after a seven-game layoff due to an ankle injury, but was not quite ready to play Saturday night against the Fire, so he stayed home and did not travel to the game.

“Leo (Messi) has been training with the group for some time now, but we felt that for the time he could have given us in this game it was better to give him these next 15 days (during the FIFA break) and to see if we can have him available for our next game against Philadelphia (Sept. 14),” Martino said.

Inter Miami got on the board first in the 25th minute of play with the help from Chicago. In the run of the attack, Luis Suarez sent a shot from 10 yards out that that was deflected off Fire defender Tobias Salquist, off the post and into the goal. Which Inter Miami took a 1-0 lead on the own goal.

Suarez started the second half on the spot for the second Inter Miami goal after taking a pass from Diego Gomez. He slotted a shot past Fire keeper in the 46th minute for a 2-0 advantage.

Add a second goal for Suarez in the 65th minute with a cross from Jordi Alba that raised the Inter Miami lead out to 3-0.

The Fire scored a late goal off a sliding Georgias Koutsias off his leg and into the goal in the 82nd minute to trail 3-1. It was set up on a drop off pass from Kellyn Acosta.

Taylor had entered a couple minutes earlier as a substitute added another Inter Miami goal off an assist from Leo Campana in the 93rd minute for the 4-1 difference.

The Fire had the fortunes and the advantage last year in playing Inter Miami without Messi, but it didn’t happen this time around.

“Yeah, we played them last year,” Chicago Fire Head coach Frank Klopas said. “What was the score last year here? 4-1. Okay, so we can compete in this league, everyone can. I can tell you how we compete; how about they send Messi to us, and then we get him healthy, and then you know? But we played last year, and it was in the details. We came out in that game, they got the first goal, we were able to get that goal. We came out in the second half, and it’s just now who throws the next punch. We had opportunities in transition that we converted.

“Today, was the opposite. We made the mistakes, and we paid for them. So, I think we don’t have a long way to go. Yes, you have a team that’s first in the table. I think teams like this, they take advantage of opportunities and mistakes you make, and they did. I believe in my team and we’re going to fight until the end with this group. I believe we have the quality to be in the playoffs. We haven’t been consistent up to this point.”

The Fire have four of its six remaining matches at home with a couple being hosted at SeatGeek Stadium. They will host DC United on Saturday, September 7th at 7:30 p.m. CT. While, Inter Miami has a week off and will next host Philadelphia on September 14th at 7:30 p.m. ET.

(Editor’s Note: For more of Leslie Smith’s and Amanda Cortese’s photos, please click on the link to their gallery.)

SCORING SUMMARY:

MIA-Own Goal (Salquist) 25

MIA-Suarez (Gomez) 46

MIA-Suarez (Alba) 65

CHI-Koutsias (Acosta) 82

MIA-Taylor (Campana) 93

BOOKING SUMMARY:

CHI-Cuypers (yellow, unsporting behavior) 29

MIA-Fray (yellow, unsporting behavior) 45

MIA-Redondo (yellow, unsporting behavior) 59

CHI-Czichos (yellow, unsporting behavior) 64

MIA-Suarez (yellow-delay of game) 75

MIA-Martinez (yelllow-unsporting behavior) 79

MIA-Cremaschi (yellow-poor sportsmanship) 83

CHICAGO FIRE: #34-Brady, #8-Gutman (#11-Lassiter 73), #5-Czichos, #2-Souquet (#27-Arigoni 85), #14-Salquist (#4-Teran 60), #30-Gimenez, #31-Navarro (#23-Acosta 60), #17-Guittierez, #8-Mueller (#19-Koursias 60), #7-Haile-Selassie, #9-Cuypers.

Subs not used: #18-Richey, #12-Barlow, #21-Herbers, #14-Salquist

INTER MIAMI CF: #1-Callender, #17-Fray, #5-Busquets, #14-Martinez, #18-Alba, #42-Bright, #55-Redondo (#41-Ruiz 72), #57-Weigandt, #24-Gressel (#30-Cremaschi 73), #20-Gomez (#16-Taylor 91), #9-Suarez (#8-Campana 80).

Subs not used: #99-Jensen, #15-Sailor, #27-Kryvysov, #32-Allen. #33-Negri

TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 16-17 MIA

SHOTS ON GOAL:  CHI 4-7 MIA
FOULS:  CHI 14-14 MIA
OFFSIDES:  CHI 1-1 MIA
CORNER KICKS:  CHI 7-3 MIA
SAVES:  CHI 4-3 MIA

Referee: Pierre-Luc Leuziere
Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbit and Gianni Fecchini

Fourth Official: Ismir Pekmic

Video Assistant: Jose Carlos rivero

Assistant Video Assistant: Joshia Patlak

Weather: Mostly fair and 74

Attendance: 55,385