Inter Miami Eyes Fourth Straight Victory vs. Cincinnati

It has been a confounding first half of the season for Inter Miami. Just a few months ago, they appeared to be a team in crisis mode, having lost to Vancouver Whitecaps in the Concacaf Champions Cup and leaking goals at an alarming rate. Miami conceded 2+ goals in seven of eight matches before bouncing back with a 4-2 win vs. Montreal and a 5-1 win vs. Columbus Crew. The Herons then paused their MLS campaign and kicked off the FIFA Club World Cup with a 0-0 draw to Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly, before erasing an early deficit and prevailing with a 2-1 comeback win vs. Portuguese side Porto.

Miami looked poised to come away with the top spot in their group after going two goals to the good via goals from Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez, only for Brazilian heavyweights Palmeiras to score two goals in the final quarter-hour to secure a 2-2 draw. It meant that, instead of facing Brazilian side Botafogo in Philadelphia, they would be facing reigning Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in Atlanta. Just as everyone predicted, PSG made a mockery of their opposition, breaking the deadlock immediately and scoring three more goals before halftime in a 4-0 victory, before brushing past Bayern Munich and Real Madrid en route to the FIFA Club World Cup Final, where they would lose 3-0 to Chelsea.

When I spoke to Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano following their shellacking in Atlanta, he admitted, “I think that it clearly leaves a big lesson because when you face the best rivals, you end up getting a challenge that you aren’t used to. We’ve played against rivals in our league and from Concacaf, but without disrespecting them, Europe and South American giants like Palmeiras are a different level. We’ll make an analysis from this…one thing goes with another, if we can profit from this experience in these two weeks of competing against these teams, it will help us carry it over into MLS. It will depend on our intelligence on the group to see how we can benefit from it.”

Fast-forward 17 days, and it certainly seems that Miami have made the most of their humbling defeat in the Peach State. They quickly rebounded in Canada on July 5 – despite conceding within two minutes, Miami would level proceedings via Allende before going ahead before the break courtesy of a brace from Lionel Messi as well as a goal from Telasco Segovia en route to a 4-1 win against Montreal. Messi was back at it again in Massachusetts on July 9, bagging a first-half brace in a 2-1 win against the New England Revolution, before adding yet another brace in a 2-1 win against Nashville. All eyes will be on the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner tonight as he looks to lead Miami to victory in Ohio.

Despite having played at least two matches fewer than every other side in MLS, Miami boasts the seventh-best record in the league as well as the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference, sitting three points behind Columbus and Nashville, four behind Cincinnati, and five behind Philadelphia, all of whom have played three more matches than Miami. The Herons will be looking to make it four wins in a row as they face a Cincinnati side that, following four wins in a row, fell to a 4-2 home defeat to Columbus at the weekend. Whilst the last match between these two sides would see Luis Suarez score twice in the first six minutes, Miami have lost in each of their last three home matches vs. Cincinnati.

Can they put an end to their struggles at TQL Stadium with a victory on Wednesday night? Stay tuned for what promises to be a tasty top-of-the-table affair in Ohio.