Without the injured Lionel Messi for the third game in a row, Inter Miami saved a point this Saturday ‘in extremis’ at home against New York City (1-1) but the move to the MLS playoff was complicated with only four games ahead to finish the campaign.
The Uruguayan Santiago Rodríguez invented a splendid goal in the 77th minute for the New Yorkers, but a header in the 95th minute by the Argentine Tomás Avilés rescued a point for the Florida team against a direct rival to enter the playoffs.
In the last breath of stoppage time in the second half, Inter Miami was about to achieve an epic comeback but Honduran David Ruíz crashed a ball against the crossbar.
Counting this setback and the US Open Cup final that they lost against the Houston Dynamo, Inter Miami has two losses, two draws and one victory in its last five games.
Messi, who has muscle problems, and Jordi Alba, also injured and also out in the last three games, watched the tie for those in pink from the stands.
The team coached by Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino is thirteenth in the Eastern Conference and has 33 points after 30 games while Montreal, which is ninth (the last place that gives access to the playoffs), has 37 points after 31 games .
DC United, eleventh in the East with 36 points after 31 games, plays tonight against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Inter Miami will play next Wednesday in Chicago against the Fire, which is another playoff contender.
On Saturday they will host Cincinnati, which won the MLS Supporters’ Shield this Saturday (the award for the best MLS team in the regular season) but no longer plays anything in the remainder of the season until the ‘playoff’, and will close the campaign with a double duel against Charlotte, another team in the fight for the playoffs.
An hour late due to a storm in South Florida, Inter Miami faced a New York City team that is now eighth in the East with 38 points in 32 games.
The first half was for the visitors, who did not go to the locker room with an advantage due to the lack of aim of the Algerian striker Monsef Bakrar.
Poorly positioned and with many problems getting the ball out, Inter Miami reflected at half-time, took refuge in the poise in the center of Sergio Busquets and improved in the second half.
However, in the 77th minute, Rodríguez grabbed a ball on the edge of the area, leaned to the right despite being pursued by two local defenders and, almost without an angle, took a missile out of his hat that entered the near post of the goal. goal by Drake Callender.
Inter Miami did not give up, they got the tie in stoppage time thanks to Avilés and came within inches of an impressive victory with Ruíz’s shot that hit the crossbar.
Messi, once again out of the squad this Saturday, requested the change in the first half of the match against Toronto on September 20 (4-0 victory), he did not play in the Florida derby against Orlando City on Sunday the 24th ( 1-1) and did not take the field in the final of the US Open Cup that Inter Miami lost this Wednesday 1-2 against the Houston Dynamo.
This injury has cut short the splendid streak that Inter Miami was experiencing since Messi arrived, who scored 11 goals in 12 games for those in pink and led them to the first title in their brief history (the Leagues Cup) in August.
The genius from Rosario has had a very busy schedule since, to all those games with Inter Miami in just over two months, we must add his call-up with the Argentina national team (he played against Ecuador and rested against Bolivia).
