Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Inter Miami earned a tough road win in Vancouver Saturday night. The Herons were led by Robert Taylor’s banger and his assist on Leo Campana’s game-winning goal. Miami, without Messi, Suarez, and Busquets, put together a solid team effort to bring back three huge points to Miami. The Vancouver fans booed the Herons loudly throughout the match protesting Lionel Messi’s absence from the game.
Starting XI
Drake Callender started in goal, with Jordi Alba, Tomas Aviles, Sergei Kryvtsov, and Marcelo Weigandt forming the backline. Yannick Bright, Benjamin Cremaschi, and Julian Gressel lined up in the midfield. Robert Taylor, Leo Campana, and Matias Rojas led the attack for the Herons.
The Heron’s Starting XI 🆚 Vancouver Whitecaps sees Kryvtsov slot in for Freire, Yannick Bright in for Busquets, & Leo Campana 🔔 at striker for Luis Suarez
NO #Messi
Which player will be the leader on the pitch? #InterMiamiCF #MLS pic.twitter.com/Ilf4M78tpX— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) May 26, 2024
Game Action
Inter Miami came out strong, creating several chances. However, Yohei Takaoka was solid in goal for Vancouver, denying Miami early on. The Heron’s breakthrough would come in the 38th minute when Jordi Alba served a superb line-busting pass to Robert Taylor. He cut in and blasted his patented banger in the upper far corner of the Vancouver goal. Takaoka could only admire the unstoppable rocket that gave Miami the 0-1 lead.
Robert Taylor scores a banger !🔥 The Finnish #InterMiamiCF fan favorite does it again with a brilliant right-footed blast 💥 Jordi Alba with the superb pass for the assist…0-1 #MLS
— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) May 26, 2024
Miami kept flying forward and found the second goal in the 54th minute after a lovely Leo Campana run. Campana charged toward the Whitecap goal and held possession until he dished the ball out wide to Robert Taylor. Taylor faked out and cut into the box giving the dagger assist for the Campana score. The Herons led 0-2 and appeared to control the match.
What a lovely run by Leo Campana 🔔 for the combination with Robert Taylor inside the box for the #InterMiamiCF 0-2 lead …
— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) May 26, 2024
A silly and unnecessary foul inside the box by Tomas Aviles on Fafa Picault led to a Ryan Gauld penalty score in the 72nd minute. The goal motivated Vancouver and saw Inter Miami hold on for dear life in the match’s final minutes. Miami took home three well-earned points from Vancouver.
Postgame
Tata Martino stressed the importance of the victory over Vancouver for Inter Miami. “I think it was a very, very, very, valuable victory. We had to run a lot and suffer a lot, but these are three valuable points for us.”
Without three of their top players, Inter Miami was able to go to a tough venue and get a big result. Messi, Busquets, and Suarez stayed home, but the rest of the team stepped up and got the job done. A performance like this is encouraging. It shows that Inter Miami has depth and quality options to cover the loss of the players who will be playing Copa America with their national teams.
Final Thoughts
Robert Taylor is an underground fan favorite for Inter Miami CF. The Finnish player is soft-spoken and lets his play on the pitch do the talking for him. Taylor has been a dependable player for Miami since day one. He’s grown in stature as one of the better players on the squad. Despite Taylor’s improved play, he often finds himself on the bench when Inter Miami brings in new players. Robert’s opportunity to shine bright will be coming soon as many of Miami’s star players will be playing in Copa America with their national teams. It would not surprise me if Robert Taylor takes a leadership role on the pitch during that stretch, letting the rest of MLS know that he is a quality player.
Leo Campana gave everyone a glimpse of his enormous talent against Vancouver. I’ve always said that Campana has all the tools to be a superstar in MLS, with the inconsistency in his play holding him back. Leo needs to learn how to maintain this high level of performance game after game and make it the norm, not the exception.
Benjamin Cremaschi and Yannick Bright both played well for Miami against Vancouver. The young players have demonstrated the maturity and futbol IQ to play with much more accomplished players and fit in. Inter Miami has a nice young core that is gaining valuable experience. It’ll pay off for the organization in the near future.
The Status Quo
Inter Miami is on a club-record 10-game MLS unbeaten streak and also on a record 5-game unbeaten road game streak. The club is doing amazing things this season. The only way to cap it off is with an MLS title, anything less at this point would be a failure.
Tata and the boys are doing great things so far. Sit back and enjoy the ride Inter Miami fans. It is a historic one.
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