Inter Miami has beaten Atlanta United 2-1 in their second ever meeting. It was a very entertaining first half for Inter Miami, creating multiple scoring chances from the opening whistle until the end of the first half. This is the Inter Miami team that all the fans have been waiting for since the beginning of the season, an aggressive, dominant team, a team that attacks in numbers creating multiple scoring opportunities, controlling the midfield and not giving the opponent team a chance to take over the game like we have done in the past games.
Pizarro linking up with Robinson and Morgan up top, creating scoring chances and keeping Atlanta’s defense on its toes throughout the entire first half was delightful to watch. The key part about the first half was that Miami created chances with many Inter Miami players up top, having options inside the box gives Miami a better chance of scoring goals. We attacked in numbers, and it paid off in the first half. For most fans, such as myself, it was a surprise to not see Matuidi in the starting 11, since he started just a few days ago and played an excellent game, filling all the empty gaps in the midfield, distributing the ball and covering a lot of ground. A player like Matuidi is what Miami needed so it was a bit shocking to see that Diego Alonso opted to keep him on the bench, especially against a team like Atlanta who has a strong midfield and tends to always control it with their players. Diego Alonso’s tactical decision was a huge gamble that paid off at the end since Miami took home the 3 points.
If I were to choose the “man of the match” for Inter Miami, I would pick our captain, Luis Robles. Some might say Morgan, which is understandable giving the fact that he scored 2 goals, but, with that said, I still pick Robles. His 2 back to back penalty saves were impressive and kept Miami with the lead throughout the second half. Miami’s first half was one that we won’t forget for a few days or weeks, we came out swinging, creating scoring chances from the very beginning with Pizarro, Morgan and Robinson in the 5th minute with Pizarro missing a goal on a break way.
Miami’s first goal came in the 27th minute from on a break away counter attack, Pizarro’s run through the middle all the way up with Robinson on the left and Morgan on the right, splitting Atlanta’s defense, allowing Pizarro to pass the ball to Morgan on the right who takes a wide shot to the far post sending the ball into the back of the net. A well deserved goal, the goal that we’ve all been waiting for! Miami had been controlling the match since the beginning, Atlanta’s only chances came in set pieces and didn’t create any danger for Robles.
The lead didn’t last long for Miami because Atlanta scored the equalizer in the 32nd min. Reyes lost sight of the ball inside the box near the goal line and the Atlanta player, who was on the floor, pushed the ball into the back of the net. But only a few minutes later, Morgan scored his second goal of the night, with a great play by Sweat on the left. He crossed the ball to Morgan who took a shot with his left foot into the upper left. What an amazing goal from a player that had been giving Atlanta a headache during the entire first half of the game.
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The referee awarded a penalty for Atlanta in the 40th minute after a sloppy play by Figal who lost his concentration and punched Gallagher in the face inside the box. I personally thought that Figal wasn’t having his best game, committing unnecessary fouls and a few bad passes. This foul was completely uncalled for and put Miami in a situation in which Atlanta had the opportunity to tie the game.
Fortunately for us, Robles had other plans by saving Barco’s PK but El Cubo Torres scored the tying goal after the rebound. The referee was asked to review the play because Torres committed encroachment when scoring his goal. The goal was disallowed after it was reviewed but the referee ordered the penalty to be retaken. Barco retook the pk and once again Robles with the save!!!! Amazing play by Robles, who was being told by his coach to dive to his right, instead, Robles went with his instinct and dove the opposite way, making yet another great save, keeping his team with the lead.
Matuidi finally entered the game as a sub in minute 59, along with Agudelo. At this point, Atlanta had controlled of the midfield and I’m guessing that Diego Alonso wanted to retake control of it by bringing in Matuidi and a few minutes later, Will Trapp, who replaced Morgan. I really thought that he would bring in Pellegrini for Morgan, to try to keep our momentum going, but Alonso opted for a more defensive minded player, someone who would help Matuidi take control of the midfield. I really don’t understand why he played Agudelo in the midfield, he’s not a midfielder, it’s evident that he’s playing out of position and he doesn’t seem comfortable playing there, I’d have to congratulate him for the effort that he gave us tonight though, knowing that his position is up front, it’s not easy for a striker to switch positions, especially to the midfield.
As time passed, the second half became one sided, Atlanta kept control of the ball and Miami’s defense kept their composure, not allowing Atlanta to bring any danger to Luis Robles. We came away with the 3 points, keeping our home soil record intact. It was a great night for many players such as Robles, Morgan, Pizarro, Shea, and the entire defense. Everyone did their job very well but there’s a lot of room for improvement, we can’t forget that Atlanta was playing without Pity Martínez, who just recently left the club to play in Saudi Arabia, as well as Josef Martínez. These are players that could have made a difference for Atlanta. Yet, Atlanta was still very dangerous. Miami has to find a way to keep the same type of energy throughout the entire game and not just the first half, perhaps too many rotations in just a few days isn’t the right call, especially in the midfield.
It seems like we play with a whole different team each game, maybe I’m old school and don’t really like rotations or at least not every single game.I would like to see a group of midfielders to play together consistently, so that they can get use to one another, to create a better communication amongst themselves, and maybe we can become a better team in the upcoming games.
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