Inter Miami drew 1-1 against the New England Revolution and remains winless at their new home, Nu Stadium, in Week 10 of the MLS. This is their third consecutive draw at this stadium.
From the opening whistle, the Herons took the initiative and controlled the tempo of the game, dominating possession and looking to Leo Messi as the focal point for their attacks.
Luis Suárez had the first clear chance of the match. In the 8th minute, the striker volleyed a ball inside the box and, with great power, forced a great save from Matt Turner.
A couple of minutes later, Turner was called into action again with another spectacular save, this time against Messi, who tried his luck from long range.
The visitors settled into the game and created danger in the opposition’s half. First, there was an attack that Carles Gil couldn’t finish with a mishit shot that could have been more dangerous, but the clearest chance came with Dor Turgeman, who almost opened the scoring, only to be denied by St. Clair.
Towards the end of the first half, Inter Miami regained complete control of the game and came close to scoring the first goal, with Messi leading the charge. He first received a brilliant pass from Suárez, who played the role of provider, but Messi’s shot went just wide of goalkeeper Turner’s right post.
In the 46th minute, Leo orchestrated a play that had served him so well so many times, cutting in from the right and firing a low, angled shot under pressure from two defenders, but the goalkeeper was solid enough to make the save without a rebound.
The goals between Inter Miami and New England came in the second half. For the second half, Inter Miami made a tactical change. Guillermo Hoyos broke the five-man backline with the introduction of Tadeo Allende, and it almost paid off very quickly.
In the 52nd minute, Rodrigo De Paul set up the Argentine striker who burst down the right flank and fired a powerful shot past the goalkeeper, but he was slightly offside and the play was ruled out.
New England remained alert to counter-attacks after regaining possession. What Inter struggled with through numerous passes and long spells of possession, the visitors achieved with very little.
First, Turgeman forced a great save from St. Clair with a long-range shot from a goal kick, and from the resulting throw-in came the first goal of the night. A throw-in into the box, a poor clearance by Maxi Falcón, and Carles Gil finished with great skill past the goalkeeper to make it 1-0 for the Revolution.
Shortly after, they were inches away from a second. Gil won the ball inside the area and sent in a low cross for Luca Langoni, who was just inches away from finishing unchallenged.
During this stretch of the match, New England displayed their best form, controlling possession through the Spaniard, the man of the match and the brains of his team, dictating the tempo of the game.
Inter Miami pressed for the equalizer with more intensity than precision, but created some significant chances. Debutante Preston Plambeck unleashed a dangerous shot that Turner, another standout player of the night, deflected wide.
And the equalizer didn’t take long to arrive. In the 75th minute, Luis Suárez fired a shot on the turn after a pass from De Paul, and the rebound off Turner found Germán Berterame alert to tap it in for 1-1. It was the third goal in three games for the Argentine-born Mexican striker.
A few minutes later, Leo Messi nearly scored the second, with a right-footed shot that went just over the crossbar.
The visitors tightened their defensive lines and settled for the draw, forcing the home side’s attack to rely more on crosses and aerial duels than on building attacks from the ground.
In the final minute of play, each side had a clear chance. First, Messi chipped a cross to Allende, whose header was weak and failed to find the net. In response, Langoni set up Raynes, whose shot was straight at the goalkeeper.
Inter Miami now has 19 points, three behind Eastern Conference leaders Nashville, while the Revolution sits in third place with 16 points.
