Inter Miami put New York to the sword for important win

Inter Miami 4 – 1 New York Red Bulls

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL–Inter Miami got back to winning ways with a dominant display against New York Red Bulls with a scoreline that matched their superiority throughout the game.

After a difficult week that saw the Herons knocked out of the Concacaf Champions cup and extend their poor run to three straight defeats in all competitions, the home side needed a good performance.

Lionel Messi and Lois Suarez were rested for the loss to Dallas last weekend, but after returning to the starting lineup for the cup defeat, it was no surprise to see them leading the front line here.

Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba were also in the starting eleven, and Miami is undoubtedly a different side when all of their big-name stars play. It’s not just about their own abilities as players, but also the positive effect it has on the rest of the team, who all seem to grow in confidence.

This was a game that Miami needed to win, for themselves and their fans, and they didn’t take long to get their noses ahead.

Marcelo Weigandt collected a poor clearance from New York down the right and sent in a teasing cross. The ball was flicked on towards the back post, where Fafa Picault fired into the roof of the net to open the scoring and give Miami a lead that they never gave up.

Weigandt went from provider to scorer when he managed to stay onside to meet a Yannick Bright cross. The full back needed two bites at it after his initial header was well saved by Carlos Coronel, but he scored at the second attempt to extend Miami’s lead.

New York were finding it hard to track Messi, and they couldn’t stop the constant flow of attacks from Miami. Suarez started and ended the next one.

He sent the ball forward from the middle of the park, and his run forward was rewarded when he received the ball in front of the goal. His first shot was blocked, but Coronel couldn’t do anything about the follow up as Miami went three goals up.

Despite enjoying plenty of the ball, New York lacked creativity in the final third, and they weren’t creating many openings. But some dogged determination from Mohammed Sofo late in the first half paid off.

Sofo chased what seemed a lost cause from a deep cross, but from an almost impossible angle, his header somehow found its way over the line to give his side a glimmer of hope.

They came out in the second half with a lot more purpose and started to dominate possession in the early minutes. However, Miami soon started to impose themselves again, and the game really ebbed and flowed as each side looked for more goals.

Miami were soon dictating play and found a way through when Messi and Telasco Segovia combined brilliantly around the penalty area.

The Miami captain benefited from a clever looped pass from the Venezuelan International and showed good strength to hold off the defender to get his shot away and extend his side’s lead.

That essentially killed off any distant hopes the Red Bulls had of a comeback, as unlikely as that seemed the longer the game went on and Inter went into game management mode.

A series of late substitutions by both sides broke up the game, and it was simple for Miami to close out an important win for coach Javier Mascherano.