Inter Miami CF crushes rival Orlando City 5-0
Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez nets two apiece, crushing Orlando City 5-0 on rivalry night.
Photo by: IMCF
Inter Miami CF forward Luis Suárez celebrates after scoring against Orlando City
Gasner Delvarin Jr., Writer
March 3, 2024
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Inter Miami CF Blue Heron (2-0-1, 7 points) crushed Orlando City (0-1-1) 5-0 on rivalry night at the Chase Stadium. Lionel Messi scored two goals, while Luis Suárez made his first impact in Major League Soccer (MLS), shutting down doubts with two goals and two assists.
The Herons wasted no time in the first half and set the tone when Julian Bressel's short grass-cut cross found Suárez from the right wing, who chopped the ball on the first contact past the goalkeeper in the near post just four minutes into the game, opening the score 1-0 against Orlando.
Minutes later, Suárez received a pass from Robert Taylor on the left wing about 26 yards out from goal. He forced an attack that Orlando midfielder Wilder Cartagena tackled the ball to Gressel, who found Suárez again with the through lob pass for the left-footed finish into the second post.
Miami continued their assault in the 29 minutes with Gressel, who connected with Suárez again and unselfishly assisted Taylor on the left with the wide-open net finish, increasing the score to 3-0.
Miami scored a fourth goal, and Orlando found the net before the half, but both goals were in offside position.
Although the statistic reads Orlando possessed the ball 52.8% of the time compared to Miami 47.2%, Miami continued to crush them on the scoreboard in the second half.
In the 57 minutes, Messi Joined the scoring spree with his chest ball control that trickled over the goal line after the Orlando defender, Robin Jansson failed to clear Jordi Alba's on-target shot that hit the crossbar.
Miami secured their victory in the 62 minutes when Suarez beat the defenders on the left wing and delivered a well-measured cross to Messi, who scored his second goal from the far post.
Inter Miami achieved their biggest victory in the club's history with this remarkable 5-0 win margin.
"This was probably the most complete match we've played since I've been at Inter Miami,” said head coach Gerardo Martino.
Inter Miami CF will face Nashville SC at GEODIS Park for the first leg of the Round of 16 in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup this Thursday, March 7, at 9 p.m.
Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, Robert Taylor, Gerardo Martino, Sports MLS, Julian Bressel, Wilder Cartagena, Robin Jansson, Orlando City