Lionel Messi set up Rodrigo De Paul’s goal and helped end German Berterame’s scoring drought as Inter Miami secured their place in the MLS playoffs with a 2-0 victory over New York City FC on Wednesday.
The win marked Cristian ‘Kily’ Gonzalez’s first back-to-back victories since taking charge last month and guaranteed second-placed Miami at least a place in the wild-card round, with five regular-season games remaining.
“I’m leaving happy. Obviously, there’s a lot to improve, but we’re making progress little by little,” Gonzalez said.
Messi, who scored twice on Saturday after returning to club duty following last week’s emotional Argentina farewell, was again influential, playing a key role in both of Miami’s first-half goals.
Miami broke the deadlock in the 20th minute when Messi controlled the ball just outside the penalty area and fed De Paul, who sent a looping diagonal pass towards Luis Suarez on the byline.
Suarez cut the ball back across the face of goal, allowing Berterame to tap home from close range for his first goal since May.
De Paul doubled Miami’s advantage with the final kick of the first half, finishing off a swift counterattack. Berterame carried the ball beyond halfway before a mishit pass fortuitously found Messi in space on the right.
With three defenders closing in, Messi produced a deft lay-off with the outside of his left foot, allowing De Paul to fire high into the net to the goalkeeper’s right.
The second half passed without a goal, although Messi came close to extending Miami’s lead with a curling effort from just outside the box that sailed over the crossbar.
In the 90th minute, Messi played a short corner to De Paul, whose long-range strike towards the far top corner drew an outstanding diving save from United States international goalkeeper Matt Freese, who tipped the ball onto the post.
New York City, enduring a dismal run of just one win in their previous 11 MLS matches, had a late opportunity to pull a goal back from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time.
Substitute Ian Fray brought down fellow replacement Talles Magno after the forward turned sharply away from goal and ran into the defender’s trailing leg.
But Dayne St. Clair preserved Miami’s clean sheet with an excellent low save to his right, palming the penalty around the post.
It was Miami’s second consecutive clean sheet, following a run of 10 matches without one.
“I really liked how we handled dropping back into defensive shape. We didn’t get caught out on the counter and were very aggressive, breaking up plays whenever a sudden transition from them looked likely,” Gonzalez said.
“Perhaps our ball circulation was a bit too slow at times, but that’s just how the game played out.”
Although Eastern Conference leaders Nashville have built a commanding position, the victory strengthened Miami’s hold on second place and boosted their prospects of securing home-field advantage in the playoffs.
AFP
