Match report: Inter Miami FC 3-1 Philadelphia Union

Photo credit: Ron Soliman

For the second match in a row, striker Mikael Uhre set the tone with an opening goal, hitting the back of the net 62 seconds into play.

Uhre found the ball after a clearance attempt from David Martínez and then settled outside of the box before sneaking a shot past Drake Callendar to the bottom left corner of the net.

Sparked by the electric start, Philadelphia dominated offensive play for the first 20 minutes of play. Together, Uhre, Tai Baribo, and Dániel Gazdag had four on target attempts following the initial goal.

Momentum began to shift, however, as in his first time back for Miami in 105 days, Lionel Messi equalized off an assist by Luis Suárez. Minutes later, Messi recorded a brace with the help of Jordi Alba, who found him for a shot to the bottom right corner.

Miami had the chance to make it 3-1 before the end of the first half courtesy of Luis Suárez, but Messi, who assisted, was ultimately ruled offsides and the goal called back after VAR review.

At the beginning of the second half, the Union found themselves with a chance to tie the game up courtesy of an Uhre attempt. Instead, mere minutes later, the Boys in Blue were forced to commit a tactical foul in order to avoid another Messi goal. Jack Elliott found himself isolated with Messi at the top of the box, and with Messi prepared for a long-range blast, Elliott pulled him down and was booked. The card means Elliott will miss Philadelphia’s match against NYCFC on Wednesday due to yellow card accumulation.

Midway through the second half, Jim Curtin made his first pair of substitutions, sending Samuel Adeniran and Alejandro Bedoya in to replace Uhre and Jack McGlynn. The change kept the Union’s signature 4-4-2 diamond, while allowing Quinn Sullivan to play higher up the pitch as Bedoya oversaw defensive responsibilities.

Almost immediately after the change, Sullivan whipped a cross towards Adeniran, who smashed it just over the crossbar.

As the second half dwindled down, Inter Miami made a pair of defensive changes, allowing them to rotate into a back five. The new alignment allowed space for the Union to attack, including a run with just under 10 minutes to go where Gazdag found side netting, a long-range attempt from Elliott, and a frazzled scramble by Adeniran.

Following a delay of game due to an injury to Kai Wagner, Messi made his final contribution, setting the ball up for Suarez to put the game away.

Three points

• Blake-less: Out tonight with an injury picked up on international duty, Blake has now missed 19 of the Union’s 28 games.
• YCA: With tonight’s booking, Jack Elliott is ineligible for the Union’s game at NYCFC on Wednesday night.
• 6 games left: With only 6 matches left, the Union sit at 11th place. They’ll need to string together wins to have a chance at the wild card spot.

Lineups

Philadelphia: Andrew Rick, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Leon Flach (Danley Jean Jacques—82′), Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel (Olivier Mbaizo—88′), Dániel Gazdag, Jack McGlynn (Alejandro Bedoya—63′), Quinn Sullivan (Jeremy Rafanello—88′), Mikkel Uhre (Samuel Adeniran—63′), Tai Baribo

Unused subs: Cavan Sullivan, Oliver Semmle, Jesús Bueno, Chris Donovan

Inter Miami FC: Drake Callender, Héctor Martínez (Noah Allen—15′; Ian Fray—90’+2′), Tomás Avilés, Jordi Alba, Marcelo Weigandt, Sergio Busquets, Federico Redondo (David Ruiz—90’+2′) , Julian Gressel ( Yannick Bright—81′), Luis Suárez, Diego Gómez, (Benjamin Cremaschi—81′), Lionel Messi

Unused subs: Óscar Ustari, Robert Taylor, Franco Negri, Leonardo Campana

Scoring summary

PHI – Mikael Uhre — 2′

MIA – Lionel Messi — 26′

MIA – Lionel Messi — 30′

MIA – Luis Suárez — 90’+8′

Misconduct summary

MIA – Tomás Avilés — 32′

PHI – Jack Elliott — 56′

PHI – Quinn Sullivan — 72′

MIA – Luis Suárez — 75′

MIA – Lionel Messi — 87′

MIA – Sergio Busquets — 90’+5′