Inter Miami CF earned a 2-0 over Real Salt Lake at Chase Stadium on Wednesday evening in the team’s 2024 MLS home opener. The team’s first match of the 2024 regular season saw attacker Robert Taylor and midfielder Diego Gómez get on the scoresheet, while captain Lionel Messi and debutant Luis Suárez tallied their first assists of the campaign.
Lineup Notes
Drake Callender started in goal; DeAndre Yedlin, Tomás Avilés, Sergii Kryvtsov and Jordi Alba formed the back four; Julian Gressel, Sergio Buquets and Gómez lined up in midfield; captain Messi and Taylor started on the wings alongside striker Suárez in attack
The first match of the MLS season presented a series of milestones and first for Inter Miami. Notably, iconic Uruguayan frontman Suárez made his official MLS debut in front of his passionate new fans, while new teammate Gressel made his team debut. The venue, meanwhile, hosted its first gameday under the moniker of Chase Stadium, following the announcement of the Club’s major, multiyear partnership with JPMorgan Chase.
Match Action
Inter Miami started off on the front foot and wasted no time in generating danger for the visitors, with Messi having two notable back to back attempts early on in the 17th minute. The most dangerous of the two came from a curled shot from a free kick that forced a goal-line clearance from defender Justen Glad.
The hosts were then able to open the scoring in the 39th minute; Busquets passed the ball to Messi in the middle of the pitch, where he turned around and sent a through ball into Taylor on the right end of the box. Taylor then culminated the play with a first-time strike to the far post to beat the keeper to put Inter Miami 1-0 ahead in the scoring and net the first goal of the 2024 MLS regular season.
The second 45 minutes presented a plethora of attacking opportunities for both sides, but it was the hosts that added onto the scoring once again. In the 83rd minute, a great team play orchestrated Inter Miami’s second goal of the night; Gómez shared the ball with Messi a few feet past the halfway line and the Argentine kickstarted the play by dribbling at speed towards the box before passing the ball to Suárez on the edge of the box. The Uruguayan striker then assisted Gómez on the right side of the box, where the midfielder finished off the play with a right-footed finish to the far post to extend Inter Miami’s lead.
The final minutes saw the hosts retain the 2-0 lead to register a win and claim all three points in the team’s 2024 MLS home opener.
Post-Match Reaction
“I think they played a good game in the first half, and above all we didn't suffer defensively. We could have scored one more goal and the truth is that it was a first half that was expected from the team.... I think that we have to continue building week by week," said head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino.
Next Match
Next Inter Miami will hit the road for its second 2024 MLS regular season fixture, with the team set to visit LA Galaxy this Sunday, Feb. 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Stats
Possession:
MIA - 51.1%
RSL - 48.9%
Shots:
MIA - 16
RSL - 16
Saves:
MIA - 2
RSL - 6
Corners:
MIA - 6
RSL - 5
Fouls:
MIA - 12
RSL - 8
