A Review Of Inter Miami After MLS Matchday 10

Fort Lauderdale – Ten matches have been played by Inter Miami CF in their 2024 MLS season and it’s a good time to step back and do a quick review of the Herons. This past  Saturday night Miami played at home versus Nashville SC obtaining a 3-1 victory led by Lionel Messi’s brace and Sergio Busquets’ first goal for Miami, with the win Inter Miami’s record stands at five wins two losses, and three draws for a total of eighteen points.

Ten games into the campaign & #InterMiamiCF is atop the Eastern Conference & are Supporter's Shield leaders.
I'll be posting an article soon with a quick review of the season thus far#MLS #Messi𓃵 pic.twitter.com/E8Mdwuh9jQ

— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) April 22, 2024

Injuries

Despite an inordinate amount of injuries to key players that began with Facundo Farias in the pre-season, Inter Miami has climbed to the top of the Eastern Conference and is the current Supporter’s Shield leader.  The injury list for Miami before their match against Nashville was long and included three starting players; Jordi Alba, Federico Redondo, and Robert Taylor.  Diego Gomez was added to the list with an ankle injury suffered in the match versus Nashville.

Leonardo Campana, and Sergii Kryvtsov, who are key contributors and depth pieces for Miami are also nursing injuries. Somehow, the Herons have managed to stay flying high despite the circumstances.

Always a long list for #InterMiamiCF #MLS
Jordi Alba – Hamstring (Out)
Facundo Farias – Knee (Out)
Leonardo Campana – Hamstring (Out)
Ian Fray – Knee (Out)
Sergii Kryvtsov – Hamstring (Out)
Federico Redondo – Knee (Out)
Robbie Robinson – Knee (Out)
Robert Taylor – Hamstring (Out)

— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) April 20, 2024

Messi & The Fantastics

A major reason Inter Miami CF has been able to navigate through the excessive injury list is that Messi, Suarez, Busquets, and Alba have been fantastic so far. Lionel Messi has scored 7 goals and provided 6 assists in six games played. He is second in the league in goals scored even with three fewer games played than league leader Chicho Arango from Real Salt Lake. Messi is tied for the league lead in assists with Arango and Dante Vanzeir of the NY Red Bulls.

Luis Suarez came to Miami with many concerns about the health of his knees, but he has been lethal and healthy for the Herons. Suarez has scored 6 goals and assisted on 4 more. His statistics rank him among the league leaders in goal contributions. Luis has been sensational for Miami thus far.

Sergio Busquets is the midfield mastermind who controls the flow of the match for Miami. He is the link between the defense and the Heron attack, with crisp clear passes out of the back. Busquets has been healthy and productive for the Herons with 1 goal scored and 2 assists distributed. Sergio is among the MLS leaders in touches on the ball with 738, demonstrating how Miami’s ball distribution goes through him.

Jordi Alba suffered a hamstring injury and did not play against Nashville, but he has been great on the left flank both as a winger and as a left-back. Inter  Miami’s attack constantly runs through the left side with Alba sprinting forward into space to make dangerous crosses into the box. Jordi has 1 goal and 1 assist through ten games.

Club Stats

Inter Miami leads MLS in goals scored with 22 and is also the leader in assists with 31. The statistics indicate that the Herons are an offensive juggernaut, which is expected when you have legendary attacking players like Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets. Although they are not in their prime in regards to age, both players are still putting up primetime numbers.

Collecting Points

The race for the MLS Supporter’s Shield is a long way from over, but through ten games Inter Miami is collecting points at a whopping 80% rate. They have won 5 games and tied 3 others with only 2 losses so far. In eight of the ten matches played Miami has been able to walk away with either a win or a tie, adding valuable points. If the Herons can maintain this rate of production they will have a good chance of winning the Shield.

Matchday 10 complete ✅
Our #MLS 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 for are here 🔢#LAGalaxy remain the 👑#RBNY & #InterMiamiCF
round out our top 3⃣#RSL's dominant win has them 📈📈

How did we do? 🤔 #ViceCityFC pic.twitter.com/kHpN6Injrq

— Lemon City Live (@LemonCityLive) April 22, 2024

Defensive Backline

Miami’s defense has been under the microscope since last season with fans and pundits pointing to the backline as the main weakness of the squad. There have been major changes since the first match with the addition of players and the departure of DeAndre Yedlin from the team. Nicolas Freire and Marcelo Weigandt were brought in to strengthen the left center-back and right full-back positions. The addition of Franco Negri off the injury list provides another strong defender to the team.

Recently, Inter Miami has used an all-Argentine backline with Negri, Freire, Aviles, and Weigandt starting together as a unit. The defense is starting to find a rhythm and gain cohesiveness and that bodes well for Miami moving forward.

Fantastic Start

Even with all the setbacks caused by multiple injuries to key players Inter Miami is still up in the standings. Tata Martino receives tons of criticism from the fans, but he has done a good job through tough circumstances. Through ten games Inter Miami CF is the top team in MLS, and that is a fantastic way to start.