Chase Stadium- In perhaps the greatest upset in MLS history, Inter Miami was eliminated in the First Round of the 2024 MLS Playoffs by 9th-seeded Atlanta United on Saturday night. Atlanta won Game 3 in their Best-of-three matchup 2-3 sending the Supporter’s Shield winners home behind a Jamal Thiaré brace and another superhuman performance from Brad Guzan.
Starting XI
Tata Martino inserted Benjamin Cremaschi and Matias Rojas into the Starting XI, which lined up in a 4-3-3 formation that morphed into a 4-4-2 defensively. Drake Callender started in goal, with Jordi Alba, David Martinez, Tomas Aviles, and Marcelo Weigandt in the backline of four. Benjamin Cremaschi, Diego Gomez, and Federico Redondo the midfield three. Matias Rojas, Luis Suarez, and Lionel Messi the attacking frontline.
Cremaschi & Rojas in the Starting XI is an interesting twist with Busquets on the bench… Do-or-die for #InterMiamiCF …#MLS #MLSCup pic.twitter.com/1GxkqKD1Jd
— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) November 10, 2024
Match Action
Inter Miami began the match at a blistering pace, attacking on all cylinders and pressing forward in numbers towards the Atlanta goal. Miami would find a score via a Matias Rojas putback after a Brad Guzan block of a Lionel Messi shot. Diego Gomez laid off a cross for a charging Messi who smacked a left-footed shot toward the Atlanta net. Brad Guzan, like he had done all series long made a great save on the shot, but Matias Rojas pounced on the rebound a blasted it into the United for the 1-0 Miami lead 17 minutes into the game.
Gooooooool #InterMiamiCF Matias Rojas rips a rebound into the Atlanta United net in the 17th minute… Guzan made a save on a #Messi shot & Rojas puts it to sleep…#MLS #MLSCup
— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) November 10, 2024
Atlanta would answer almost immediately with Jamal Thiaré nailing a shot past a helpless Drake Callender just 2 minutes later to tie the match at 1-1.
Jamal Thiare scores in the 19th minute 1-1
— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) November 10, 2024
Thiaré wasn’t done. Two minutes later, he scored his second goal to put Atlanta United ahead, 1-2. United silenced the home crowd stunned by the quick turn of events.
Thiare scores again in the 21st minute 2-1 Atlanta…
— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) November 10, 2024
Miami could not break the Atlanta United defensive lock until Lionel Messi scored in an unconventional manner for him, with a header. Marcelo Weigandt crossed a ball into the box and Messi headed it home for the 2-2 draw, bringing the fans back into the match and giving the squad a morale boost.
Lionel #Messi with the Hammer header for the 2-2 draw … The GOAT 🐐 gets on the scoreboard in the most unconventional way for him… #Messi #MLSCupPlayoffs #MLS #InterMiamiCF
— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) November 10, 2024
Messi’s score electrified the crowd giving the fans hope that Miami could mount a dramatic comeback at home. It was not to be, instead, Atlanta scored the game-winning goal on a controversial sequence.
The Herons fall asleep calling for Atlanta United to stop play for a fallen #InterMiamiCF player… 3-2 Atlanta leads… The upset is brewing?
— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) November 10, 2024
Toto Aviles drops to the ground during the build-up of play by Atlanta United and the Miami players call for the ball to be stopped or kicked out of bounce, but Pedro Amador delivers a perfect cross for Bartosz Slisz who heads the game-winner past Drake Callender. The Herons committed the cardinal sin of not playing until the referee blows the whistle. Atlanta’s heroic upset was done and Inter Miami’s shameful and painful elimination completed.
Postgame
Jordi Alba felt that Miami, as in the previous matches had control during most of the match, but Brad Guzan was the difference in the game and the series,
I believe we controlled the match at times. they defended well and their transitions were very dangerous, but their goalkeeper was outstanding in every match, and I think that was the differencve.
Brad Guzan was indeed the difference in the match with an incredible nine saves to stymie the Herons in the series.
Final Thoughts
By all accounts, Inter Miami’s season is a failure. The Supporter’s Shield is a nice accessory to have in the trophy case but the main objective of being the MLS Cup Champions was not reached. Leagues Cup and CONCACAF Champions eliminations also soured Miami’s record-breaking MLS season. A roster with four football legends who are still playing at a very high level along with many other talented players needed to win more trophies this season.
Next season has many question marks and we will expand upon them in a season-ending review coming soon.
Last night’s loss was humiliating for the Herons as the rest of the league looks upon them in disdain for multiple reasons, some valid others not so much. Where does the club go from here? Will next next season see a roster shake-up? Will Neymar be the next big-name player to head to South Florida? So many questions, and now so much time to seek answers.
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