Miami faced off against FC Cincinnati on a wet evening where Lionel Messi made a comeback to the field. Regrettably, FC Cincinnati emerged victorious with a 1-0 lead, much to the dismay of Miami fans.
The spectators at DRV PNK Stadium erupted with cheers during the second half when Messi stepped onto the field. In his first game in weeks, a free kick was taken shortly after but it missed the goal by going high.
Inter Miami supporters were eagerly anticipating a remarkable performance from Messi to salvage the team’s chances of making it to the playoffs.
However, despite his strong performance in the second half, he was unable to make a difference against the top team in the league this season, resulting in a 1-0 defeat to FC Cincinnati. For a significant portion of the first half, FC Cincinnati spent their time glancing over their shoulder.
In the first 25 minutes, Inter Miami dominated possession and had several attempts at scoring that unfortunately hit the post. These attempts were made by Tomás Avilés, Josef Martínez, and Ben Cremaschi. FC Cincinnati’s coach, Pat Noonan, expressed the necessity for the team to have greater bravery on the field following an uncharacteristically underwhelming performance in the initial half of the game.
Drake Callender, the goalkeeper for Inter Miami, demonstrated excellent performance on his 26th birthday which prevented Cincinnati from gaining an advantage for a significant portion of the second half.
Cincinnati was unsuccessful in scoring despite numerous attempts, but Álvaro Barreal managed to find the back of the net in the 78th minute when a shot was saved by Callender and directly rebounded to him.
“After the game, Nick Hagglund, defender for FC Cincinnati, stated that we effectively handled the second half.” “We frequently lost possession of the ball in unfavorable locations, which disrupted our flow and coordination during the first half.” In the latter part of the game, we improved our ball handling skills, resulting in a stronger defense for our team.
FC Cincinnati has achieved the most wins in the league in 2023 with their recent victory. Inter Miami’s playoff hopes are over after this defeat, even though there are still two games left in the regular season. Barreal’s 78th minute goal made all the difference in the tight 1-0 match on a rainy evening in Fort Lauderdale