Miami suffer heavy defeat on the road

Charlotte FC 3 – 0 Inter Miami

CHARLOTTE, NC–Inter Miami returned to league action and were given a rude awakening as a Idan Toklomati hat trick handed them their sixth defeat of the season.

It was a fast-paced match that saw both sides go at it from the first whistle. Jordi Alba came close early on when he tested Kristijan Kahlina in goal with a rasping shot on the volley in an open start to the game.

Miami had the bulk of possession in the early stages as they searched for a chance to unlock the home sides backline and take an early lead.

Charlotte struggled to cope with Miami’s pace and movement. They could hardly get a foot on the ball and stop the Herons from pushing forward to keep applying pressure.

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 13: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF reacts during the MLS match between Charlotte FC and Inter Miami CF at Bank of America Stadium on September 13, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

Lionel Messi was the heartbeat for Miami, but the captain fluffed his lines in a big way deep into the first half when he had Miami’s best chance after they were awarded a penalty.

It was Messi himself that was fouled and after a VAR review, the penalty was awarded. But his attempt at a cheeky chip over keeper Kahlina from twelve yards failed.

Known as the Panenka, the idea is to get the keeper to commit to dive, while the ball gently floats into the net out of reach.

It’s an arrogant move that’s probably more suited to a time when your team are comfortably ahead and not fighting for points in a goalless game.

And the Miami captain was soon left to rue the missed opportunity minutes later when his side were one goal down, and the evening got steadily worse.

A quick move found Vargas on the right and his cross found an unmarked Toklomati who gave Oscar Ustari no chance to open the scoring.

Miami continued to try and find a way to create chances and pull a goal back, but they weren’t showing the normal potent attacking threat and looked subdued.

The Miami attacking threat of Telasco Segovia, Rodrigo DePaul and Tadeo Allende had little impact on the game and the Charlotte defensive line were largely untroubled throughout.

On the flip side, Wilfred Zaha was pulling the strings for Charlotte, and it was his threaded through ball early in the second half that undid the Maimi defence.

His pass saw the run of Brandt Bronico who found space in the Miami back line and squared it for Toklomati to extend his sides lead.

The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Miami who had huffed and puffed all night with nothing to show for their efforts and two goals conceded.

Messi was being starved of the ball as Charlotte tried to stop the Argentine from having his usual influence on the game, and it worked perfectly. When Messi has the ball he can tear you apart, but not without it, and that’s what the home side took control.

Zaha jinked his way into the Miami defence late on only to be fouled and earn his side a penalty.

The night belonged to Toklomati and the young attacker finished his perfect night by completing his hattrick from the penalty spot.

It was a tough night for Miami who had four defeats last season, compared to six losses so far this, so they are up against it if they want to defend their crown successfully.

They do have games in hand due to their involvement in the Club World Cup, but there are no easy games in this league and coach Javi Mascherano will want to see those re-scheduled games turned into points as he now looks to get his side back on track.