Inter Miami CF secured a 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in the team’s 2024 MLS Home Opener at Chess Stadium on Wednesday evening. In the team’s first match of the 2024 regular season, striker Robert Taylor and midfielder Diego Gomez were seen on the scoresheet, while captain Lionel Messi and newcomer Luis Suarez provided their first assists of the campaign.
In Short
Lineup
Drake Calendar kicked off with a goal, Dandre Yedlin, Thomas Evils, Sergi Krivatsov, and Jordi Alba formed the back four, Julian Gressel, Sergio Busquets, and Gomez were lined up in midfield; Captain Messi and Taylor led the attacking charge alongside striker Suarez.
The MLS season opener presented a series of milestone moments for Inter Miami, marking their first match. Especially noteworthy was the official MLS debut of esteemed Uruguayan forward Suarez in front of his passionate new fans, while new recruit Gressel made his team debut. Meanwhile, following the announcement of a significant two-year partnership with JP Morgan Chase, the venue hosted its inaugural game day under the sub-name of Chase Stadium.
Match Action
Inter Miami started off on the front foot, wasting no time in posing a threat to the spectators. Messi made two consecutive notable attempts in the 17th minute, with the most dangerous being a curling shot from a free kick that forced defender Justin Glad to clear off the goal line.
Subsequently, the hosts Inter Miami succeeded in scoring in the 39th minute, Busquets played the ball to Messi in the middle of the pitch, where he turned and sent the ball to Taylor on the right side of the box. Taylor then sealed the game with a strike past the keeper at the far post, putting Inter Miami ahead 1-0 in scoring the first goal of the 2024 MLS regular season.
New season, same Robert Taylor bangers 😏🔥
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) February 22, 2024
Messi ➡️ Taylor in behind the backline who finishes it to give us the lead 👏#MIAvRSL | 1-0 pic.twitter.com/ubPUrbChva
In the second 45 minutes, both sides had plenty of attacking opportunities, but the host team once again made a breakthrough in scoring. In the 83rd minute, a great team effort resulted in Inter Miami’s second goal of the night, Gomez shared the ball with Messi just outside the box, and the Argentine initiated play by dribbling swiftly towards the edge of the box before passing to Suarez on the right side, where the midfielder wrapped up the game with a finish from his right foot at the far post.
Maintaining a 2-0 lead in the final minutes, the Inter Miami secured the win and earned all three points in the team’s 2024 MLS Home Opener.
Messi ➡️ Suárez ➡️ Gómez 🔥
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) February 22, 2024
Diego Gómez doubles the lead for us late in the match#MIAvRSL | 2-0 pic.twitter.com/bPWUmnjqDD
Next Up for Inter Miami
Next, Inter Miami will hit the road for their second match of the 2024 MLS regular season, as the team visits LA Galaxy this Sunday, February 25th, at 8:30 PM ET. The match will take place at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Player Ratings
Goalkeeper and Defense
Drake Calendar (6/10): Didn’t have much to do as Miami controlled the game quite well. However, made two solid saves in a game where he could have easily lost focus.
Jordi Alba (7/10): Did what you expect from Alba. Contributed in attack and played some good defensive game when called upon. Made his presence felt.
Sergi Krivatsov (6/10): A solid performance from the experienced one, although a little shaky at the start of the second half. Nonetheless, he managed to hold on.
Thomas Evils (6/10): Given some really poor gifts, but later made up for it by putting up a show. Optimistic will credit him for that, but pessimistic will remember this preseason and might have some worries.
Dandre Yedlin (6/10): Lucky that he didn’t concede a penalty in the second half. Otherwise, no issues.
Also Read : “Barcelona vs Celta Vigo: Lewandowski’s Penalty Drama Reignites Magic Touch – A Tale of Redemption”
Midfield
Sergio Busquets (7/10): Passing was exceptional as he helped Miami control the game. Caught offside in a crucial moment, but other than that, the Spanish star did everything right.
Diego Gomez (8/10): Put in a great shift and scored the crucial opening goal, which gave Miami a comfortable cushion. Knew his role and played it well before being subbed off to protect his lead.
Julian Gressel (5/10): Really struggled, to be honest. Missed several opportunities and had some bad, poor touches. His bio-data says it all, so we won’t give too much criticism, but it wasn’t a great start.
Forward
Robert Taylor (7/10): A bit lucky in the goal department but he’ll take it. The MacMath hauler made Taylor the first goal scorer of the MLS season as he looks to build on his incredible second half of 2023.
Luis Suarez (7/10): Some good things done, especially when he dropped deep and assisted the second goal. However, pace isn’t there yet, so he’ll need some good service to get those big numbers by himself.
Lionel Messi (8/10): Assisted in the opening goal, assisted in the second goal, and created one or two viral moments with his humorous touches that will haunt injured Andrew Brody. If his partners were a bit more clinical, he could have easily had one or two goals himself.
