Inter Miami Player Ratings Vs. Nashville Sc: Playoff Demons Haunt Herons

Inter Miami squandered their chance to beforehand to nan Eastern Conference semifinals, falling 2–1 to Nashville SC connected Saturday evening.

The Herons comfortably defeated B.J. Callaghan’s broadside 3–1 astatine Chase Stadium past weekend. All Inter Miami needed to do was cod different triumph successful Game 2 and they would triumph their first-ever MLS Cup playoff series.

Yet 2 first-half goals from Sam Surridge and Josh Bauer stunned nan visitors astatine GEODIS Park. Lionel Messi tried to rally a comeback pinch a stunning onslaught successful nan 89th minute, but Inter Miami yet could not find nan reply against a disciplined Nashville defense.

Now, nan Herons find themselves successful an eerily akin business to their short 2024 postseason run. Inter Miami won Game 1 past twelvemonth arsenic good earlier losing Game 2 and Game 3 to clang retired of nan MLS Cup playoffs.

With Game 3 coming adjacent weekend, nan unit is connected Messi and co. to correct their wrongs from 2024 and yet get complete nan statement successful nan postseason.

Luis Suárez was disconnected nan people successful Game 2. / Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Rocco Ríos Novo—6.0: Made a costly correction successful nan early stages of nan lucifer that instantly put his squad astatine a disadvantage, 1 they could not overcome.

RB: Ian Fray—6.8: Won nan astir duels successful nan match, but pinch small to show for it.

CB: Maximiliano Falcón—7.3: Needed De Paul to way backmost and screen for him connected galore occasions. Falcón ne'er genuinely looked settled.

CB: Noah Allen—6.3: Yanked astatine halftime aft an unconvincing 45 minutes. Allen managed zero tackles and had aggregate blunders pinch nan shot astatine his feet that put Inter Miami successful precarious situations.

LB: Jordi Alba—7.0: A agleam spot for Inter Miami. Alba created nan astir chances successful nan lucifer and looked vulnerable each clip he touched nan shot successful nan last third.

RM: Tadeo Allende—6.3: Poor finishing was erstwhile again nan communicative of his night. Allende will rue his missed effort from adjacent scope that could person turned nan tide of nan game.

CM: Rodrigo De Paul—7.6: Was fixed small support successful nan midfield and virtually nary connected nan antagonistic attack. De Paul could not play his champion crippled because he was covering for his teammates.

CM: Sergio Busquets—7.3: Forced to driblet backmost and play arsenic a halfway backmost for overmuch of nan nighttime to thief his backline defend.

LM: Baltasar Rodríguez—6.1: Failed to get progressive successful nan match. Rodríguez managed conscionable 10 passes and 18 touches successful 54 minutes connected nan transportation earlier coming disconnected aft seemingly picking up an injury.

ST: Lionel Messi—7.6: Uncharacteristically quiet. Messi recovered himself having to driblet heavy conscionable to get connected nan ball. Apart from his last-gasp goal, nan Argentine’s flashes of brilliance were snuffed retired by Nashville.

ST: Luis Suárez—6.4: Had nan chances, but could not decorativeness successful an underwhelming capacity erstwhile nan Herons’ needed his most.

Subs not used: Oscar Ustari (GK), Gonzalo Luján, Marcelo Weigandt, Tomás Avilés, Yannick Bright, Allen Obando, Fafà Picault.

Nashville SC (3-4-3)

Starting XI: Joe Willis; Jeisson Palacios, Walker Zimmerman, Josh Bauer; Andy Najar, Patrick Yazbek, Edvard Tagseth, Matthew Corcoran; Alex Muyl, Sam Surridge, Hany Mukhtar.

Subs used: Jacob Shaffelburg, Ahmed Qasem, Bryan Acosta, Teal Bunbury.

Inter Miami Player of nan Match: Lionel Messi

Player of nan Match: Josh Bauer (Nashville SC)

Nashville SC 2–1 Inter Miami—How It Unfolded astatine GEODIS Park

Jordi Alba was a lone agleam spot for Inter Miami. / Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images

The Herons’ power from Game 1 was obscurity to beryllium recovered upon nan opening whistle successful Nashville. Inter Miami quickly recovered themselves connected nan backfoot of a heated, rainy conflict astatine GEODIS Park.

It took only six minutes for Callaghan’s broadside to carve nan visitors open. Surridge made a tally successful down Inter Miami’s precocious statement and was done connected extremity erstwhile Rocco Ríos Novo took him down wrong nan container pinch a clumsy challenge.

A lengthy VAR reappraisal confirmed nan penalty, and Surridge converted from 12 yards retired to put Nashville up 1–0.

Mascherano’s men grew into nan crippled and looked destined to container an equalizer successful nan 18th minute. Rodrigo De Paul played a superb done shot to find Luis Suárez, who effortlessly rounded Nashville goalkeeper Sam Willis earlier sending a onslaught from a constrictive perspective astatine a gaping goal. Except nan woodwork denied nan Uruguayan.

Inter Miami and Nashville went connected to waste and acquisition blows, but some sides lacked nan extremity merchandise basal to get connected nan scoresheet until Bauer recovered nan backmost of nan nett adjacent connected nan brink of halftime. The defender, who only played 4 minutes successful Game 1, cleaned up a sloppy protect series from nan Herons to double his side’s lead.

Mascherano’s men came retired of nan passageway pinch their sights group connected goal. Inter Miami wholly pinned Nashville wrong their ain half, claiming each nan momentum astatine GEODIS Park without thing to show for it.

In fact, it took nan Herons 66 minutes to grounds their first changeable connected target successful nan match. Jordi Alba recovered Suárez pinch a superb transverse from nan near flank, but nan No. 9 saw his effort from adjacent scope stopped by Willis.

The visitors yet recovered their long-awaited breakthrough connected nan cusp of stoppage clip done their captain. Messi produced yet different infinitesimal of magic successful a pinkish shirt, carving capable abstraction wrong nan container to occurrence a left-footed onslaught into nan apical corner.

The goal, though, was not capable to rally a comeback for Inter Miami.

Nashville SC vs. Inter Miami Full Time Statistics

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