Inter Miami CF suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat at the hands of in-state rivals Orlando City SC on Saturday night at Chase Stadium. Despite a promising start and several early chances, the Herons were unable to capitalize, while Orlando City executed clinical finishing to walk away with all three points.
Inter Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino rolled out a strong starting XI featuring Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez up top, with Sergio Busquets and Yannick Bright anchoring the midfield. Jordi Alba and Tadeo Allende operated along the flanks, while Óscar Ustari made his debut in goal behind a backline of Ian Fray, Gonzalo Luján, Maximiliano Falcón, and Noah Allen.
The hosts looked lively in the early stages, nearly taking the lead in the 10th minute when Ian Fray found himself in space on the right side of the box following a slick passing move. His curling shot narrowly missed the far post. In the 22nd minute, Messi unleashed a powerful right-footed drive from outside the box that forced a sharp save from Orlando’s veteran goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
On the other end, Ustari was called into action in the 24th minute, stopping a dangerous chance from Orlando winger Iván Angulo with a smart save in the center of the box.
Despite Inter Miami’s early dominance in possession and chances, it was Orlando who struck first. In the 43rd minute, Gallese launched a pinpoint long ball over the Miami defense to a streaking Luis Muriel. The Colombian forward controlled the ball with ease and calmly beat Ustari one-on-one to give the visitors a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
Orlando wasted no time doubling their advantage after the break. In the 53rd minute, midfielder Martín Ojeda cut a ball back from the right wing into the heart of the Miami penalty area, where Marco Pašalić met it with a first-time strike. Although Ustari got a hand on the ball, it slipped through and into the net, making it 2-0.
Inter Miami struggled to regain control of the match, with Orlando pressing high and frustrating any attempts to build through the midfield. Messi and Suárez were kept largely quiet in the second half by Orlando’s disciplined defensive shape.
In the dying moments of stoppage time, Orlando capped off their dominant performance with a third goal. Kyle Smith launched a pass down the left wing to Duncan McGuire, who squared the ball across the six-yard box to an unmarked Dagur Dan Thórhallsson. The Icelandic midfielder tapped in from close range to seal the 3-0 result.
Scoring Summary: 43’ – Luis Muriel (Pedro Gallese) – ORL 1, MIA 0, 53’ – Marco Pašalić (Martín Ojeda) – ORL 2, MIA 0, 90+4’ – Dagur Dan Thórhallsson (Duncan McGuire, Kyle Smith) – ORL 3, MIA 0
Inter Miami will look to bounce back quickly as they head on the road next weekend. The Herons travel to Chester, Pennsylvania to face the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park on Saturday, May 24, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The loss drops Inter Miami in the standings as they search for consistency in the second half of the MLS season. With attacking stars like Messi and Suárez on the roster, the pressure is on to turn performances into points—starting next weekend in Philadelphia.
