Inter Miami move up the ladder as they thrash New York City

New York City FC 0-4 Inter Miami

FLUSHING, NY–Inter Miami move up the ladder as they thrash New York City

Another brace from Lional Messi helped Inter Miami get another crucial win on the road as they had to grind out the result against a resilient New York City.

The scoreline flattered Miami a little who needed late goals to seal the win as they took advantage of City players who started to tire late on.

The game had a lively start to it without really providing any decent chances in the early stages. New York would have been happy to restrict Messi and his team mates to set pieces and long-range efforts for the most part.

And it was the home side had the best chances in the first half but failed to take them. The missed chances just seemed to fire up Miami who finally started to play some decent football and attack at will.

A quick break down the New York right flank saw a cross that eluded the entire Miami defence and found Thiago Martins who had a free header. Oscar Ustari made a good stop, but the captain really should have scored, and it was a huge let off for the Herons.

They were caught napping minutes later when a ball over the top found the run of Nicolas Fernandez. The City front man did well to evade the attentions of the chasing defenders, but his shot scraped the side of the post when you feel he should have done better.

Miami were riding their luck a little, but the close calls seemed to shake them from their slumber, and they started to play some better football of the half.

Youngster Mateo Silvetti was in the thick of things as he linked up with Messi and Lois Surez in his first start for the club. Rodrigo DePaul combined well with Sergio Busquets as they started to control the midfield and enjoy the lion’s share of possession.

And they soon got their chance as Busquets played the ball to Messi in the centre circle, and the Miami captain found the run of Baltasar Rodriguez and he finished perfectly to open the scoring.

The second half started much the same way as Miami looked to dominate the opposition and force the mistakes and create chances.

City still had a foot hold on the game and a goal for the home side would have changed everything. But they weren’t creating anything, and when they did the opportunity was wasted.

And eventually the pressure told when Busquets spotted Messi’s run through the middle, and the Miami captain dinked the ball over the onrushing Matt Freeze to give his side the breathing space of a two-goal lead.

New York continued to try and find a way back, but they didn’t have the guile to fashion a really good chance, and then they conceded a penalty when DePaul was caught, and Suarez stepped up to end the game as a contest.

There was still time for more to come as Miami added some polish with a fourth goal, and a fine goal it was.

A defender’s worst nightmare is Messi running at you with the ball and a head of steam, and the City defenders stood off and were punished as the Argentine finished with his usual efficiency.

This was an important win for Miami, but it could have been quite different had New York taken their early chances. But this game is about scoring goals and when Miami are on song, it’s what they do best.

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