What’s wrong with Inter Miami? Lionel Messi and MLS Cup favourites exposed by shock playoff defeat in Atlanta AnalysisInter Miami CFL. MessiL. SuarezMajor League
Of course, football is rarely that simple. The jeopardy in this sport comes from an inherent uncertainty, and despite Miami’s glittering regular season, there is always a chance – in MLS, at least – that something could go wrong. Still, despite those caveats, Tata Martino’s side really should have made this a whole lot easier. After beating Atlanta in the first game, they lost the second – and never really looked convincing over the course of 90 minutes.
Instead, they looked like an outfit searching for answers, stretched thin on the road, and, ultimately, uncertain in an atmosphere that was far more hostile than some might have expected, as even the pink Messi shirts that dotted parts of Mercedes-Benz Stadium were drowned out by the Black and Red of the home support.
And so this will need a Game Three to settle things, the full might of MLS’s oft-maligned playoff structure being put to use. Miami will still be favourites, but there are some serious questions to be asked as a team that looked so dominant in the regular season are showing an air of vulnerability when the stakes are at their highest.
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Chance creation woes
With all that said, can Miami really take much of the blame for Brad Guzan turning into something resembling prime Manuel Neuer in Game One? The veteran goalkeeper, who was linked with an exit from Atlanta at the start of the year, turned in the performance of a lifetime in the 2-1 loss, making eight saves and bursting out of his box to constantly deny Miami counter-attacks. The visitors might have conceded three or four had Guzan not kept his side in it.
But in Game Two, Guzan didn’t have to provide such heroics. It was, in fact, his blunder that gifted Miami their only goal. Without his ill-advised punt attempt, which Redondo nicked and turned into an open net, Miami would have finished the game with just one shot on target. They may have had more of the ball, and a higher expected goals total, but the visitors never really threatened in Georgia. There is, indeed, a difference between creating chances and having good looks on goal. Limiting Messi and Suarez to a combined two “big chances” and just 17 touches in the Atlanta box was a fine effort.
Outside of the statistics, there just wasn’t any kind of sense that Miami would produce in attack. Some passes were made too late, while others weren’t played at all. The body language suggested annoyance, and Martino backed that up, saying: “We wanted everything to finish [Saturday], but I am satisfied with how they played, but frustrated with the result.”
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Lack of pace
Aging legs were always supposed to be a problem for Miami this season. After all, throwing a 37-year-old Suarez with worn knees from almost two decades of playing into a team that already lacked pace seemed a recipe for disaster. But for long stretches of the campaign, Miami controlled games. They didn’t have to cover much ground because, quite simply, they had the ball more than their opponents. They finished fourth in the league in both pass completion percentage and ball possession, according to FBRef. In theory, having more of the ball than your opponent – and retaining it better – means those aging legs should be able to keep moving for longer.
But Miami also have the most errors leading to a goal in MLS. And on two separate occasions, once in the regular season and again on Saturday, they played right into Atlanta’s hands. With six minutes remaining, Martino removed centre-back Noah Allen, switched to a 4-3-3, and asked his team to kill the series off early.
The Atlanta winner that followed could have been predicted at that point. Miami were stretched, and Atlanta moved it well. The finish by Xande Silva was miraculous, but the opportunity was always going to come. Miami simply cannot play in transition, and Atlanta knew this.
Busquets’ absence keenly felt
It’s not just in attack where Miami have come up short, however. The absence of Sergio Busquets from Game Two was always going to be cause for some concern, as the former Barca man has played a crucial role in various positions for Martino this season. He may be aging, and this may be a different league, but Busquets has still looks every bit the perfect tempo-setter.
Miami might have looked two ways without Busquets, who missed Saturday’s game due to illness. There was a school of thought that him missing out would allow Miami’s younger, more athletic midfielders to fly around the centre of the park. This was, in theory, a team that could press higher, move the ball quicker, and hit the home side on the break. Instead, everything was too frantic. Martino deployed a back three, with a Federico Redondo-Yannick Bright pivot manning the middle, but they were both outnumbered and outthought, with Atlanta’s more energetic and controlled three-man setup proving too much for the young duo.
Dax McCarty played the Busquets role perfectly for Atlanta, offering vital calm at the base of midfield, while Bartosz Slisz and Ajani Fortune buzzed around in front of him. Miami didn’t lose too many duels, but they didn’t really stamp their authority, either. Bright played just one pass into the final third, while his replacement, highly regarded U.S. prospect Benjamin Cremaschi was more advanced, but slightly wayward in his passing accuracy.
Still strong favourites
So what, exactly, can Martino do here? Miami’s injury list is concerning, Suarez looks exhausted, Messi isn’t firing and Busquets’ status for Game Three is, at this point, unknown. There isn’t much room for tactical tweaks or outright innovation to ensure this doesn’t all end in an early playoff exit.
Miami have, however, shown repeatedly that they can embrace adversity throughout the campaign. Things were supposed to collapse when Messi and Suarez left for Copa America and Busquets was forced to play centre-back. Instead, Miami won seven of eight. And even when Messi was out with an ankle injury, they continued to chug along.
This is a team that won the Supporters’ Shield with relative ease, broke the MLS points record, and routinely beat the other best sides in the league. Yes, there are flaws and reasons for concern, but statistically at least, this is the best side that MLS has ever seen, carried by the best player the game has ever seen.
That really should be enough. But as MLS followers know all too well, one slip up and the unexpected can very quickly become the reality.
