Inter Miami CF fell 2-3 to New York City FC at Inter Miami CF Stadium. Lewis Morgan notched his second brace of the season while Gonzalo Higuaín, the team’s newest addition, and Blaise Matuidi registered their first assists for the team.
"On one side it's difficult to understand but easy to explain. We clearly made errors that allowed our opponent to score...I think that it's an issue of concentration, of being focused, and of individual errors that we have to work on and continue giving the team confidence because I think they play well,” said manager Diego Alonso. “We're constantly doing more to merit a victory than our opponents, but to win the match we have to be better, and that's what we have to correct. We have to minimize the amount of errors that we're making, if not it's difficult to compete at any level."
Inter Miami defender A.J. DeLaGarza made his debut for the team, slotting into the defense as a member of the starting XI. Higuaín, meanwhile, made his second start for the team in his Inter Miami CF Stadium debut.
New York took the lead in the early moments when Alexander Ring played a long ball over the top into Alexandru Mitriță, who slid and connected with the ball, hitting it into the back of the net for a 0-1 lead in the fourth minute.
Inter Miami struck back in the 27th minute to make it 1-1. A precise passing move started with a Wil Trapp pass to Matuidi near the left corner of the box, who then squared a pass to Victor Ulloa at the top of the box, who slid it to Morgan on the right. The Scottish winger controlled the ball, found his aim, and struck a shot across the keeper and into the back of the net to equalize. The goal also marked Matuidi’s first assist for the team and Ulloa’s third.
The visitors reclaimed their lead in the 38th minute when a long-range effort from Anton Tinnerholm found the back of the net to make it 1-2.
The match took another turn just three minutes later when Inter Miami once again equalized; Rodolfo Pizarro played the ball out wide to Higuaín who calmly collected the ball on the right side of the box, cut in on his left foot and played a ball to Morgan at the top of the box. The winger struck a powerful right-footed shot into the top right corner of the net, notching his second goal of the night and making it 2-2. The goal also marked Higuaín’s first assist for Inter Miami and Pizarro’s fifth, the most on the team.
New York took the lead again through a quick counter in the 44th minute that resulted in a shot from Mitriță that was deflected and found the back of the net to make it 2-3 heading into halftime.
A closely-contested second half saw the sides battle in a back-and-forth affair. Inter Miami appeared to have an equalizing goal in the 86th minute when Matías Pellegrini, who came on for Trapp in the 67th minute, played a ball over the top into Higuaín. The forward controlled the ball with his chest and played a pass across the face of goal that was met by Julían Carranza, who came on for Victor Ulloa in the 85th minute, for an apparent equalizer. After a video review, however, Carranza was judged to be offside.
Though Inter Miami didn’t find an equalizing goal, the team registered 13 shots to nine from New York, and controlled just under 60% possession.
Inter Miami travels north to face the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 7:00 p.m. ET at Red Bull Arena.
