Inter Miami CF (11W-3L-5D, 38 points) earned three valuable points on the road tonight with a hard-fought 1-2 win against the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park despite going down two men in the second half. The match saw Homegrown attacker Leo Afonso, who earned his first Royal Caribbean Icon of the Match award, score a late winner for the team in stoppage time, while midfielder Julian Gressel recorded his first goal for the Club to earn the result on the night. Notably, with the win Inter Miami extended its Club-record unbeaten run on the road to six, helping maintain the team atop the MLS Supporters’ Shields race.
Lineup Notes
Inter Miami kicked off the match with Drake Callender in goal; Marcelo Weigandt, Tomás Avilés, Sergii Kryvtsov and Jordi Alba made up a backline of four; David Ruiz, Sergio Busquets and Benjamin Cremaschi started in midfield; Gressel and Robert Taylor flanked Leonardo Campana in attack.
Goalkeeper Callender wore the team’s captain’s armband in the absence of Lionel Messi, who is away with Argentina on international duty. Additionally, Homegrown defender Ian Fray featured in a matchday squad for the first time this season after recovering from a long-term injury suffered in July 2023.
Match Action
The match kicked off with the hosts taking an early lead, with Philadelphia Union opening the scoring in the third minute through a strike by forward Mikael Uhre.
A close remainder of the first half saw the home side generate more danger while Inter Miami defended stoutly, but the scoreline remained unmoved and the match went into the half with a 1-0 lead for Philadelphia.
The second half then began the same way the first half did, but this time it was Inter Miami that got onto the scoresheet. In the 47th minute, Alba played a ball into the box for Cremaschi from the left wing, with the midfielder then finding Gressel in the center of the box. Gressel subsequently took a touch before finishing with a right-footed strike to the back of the net to tie the scoring at 1-1. The goal was Gressel’s first for Inter Miami, while the assist was the second for Cremaschi this regular season and the secondary assist took Alba’s tally to five this season.
Inter Miami then went down two men during the remaining minutes of the second half, with red cards being shown to players from the visitors in the 69th and 84th minutes.
Despite playing two men down, Inter Miami was able to find a dramatic late winner. In the fourth minute of added time, second-half substitutes Yannick Bright and Leo Afonso combined for a late winner. Bright recovered possession in the team’s half before serving a ball behind the opposition’s defenders back to find Afonso in space. The Academy product then dribbled to leave one defender behind before masterfully beating the keeper with a finish to the near post. The winner was Afonso’s second goal this regular season, while the assist was the first for Bright in MLS action.
The scoreline then remained unmoved and Inter Miami claimed a key three points at Subaru Park to remain atop the Supporters’ Shield standings.
Royal Caribbean Icon of the Match
Homegrown attacker Afonso earned Royal Caribbean Icon of the Match honors for the first time tonight, winning the award after his heroic second-half cameo that saw him score the team's winner.
Post-Match Reaction
"This has to do with the effort, the character, the guts that the boys had, beyond the mistakes that we've made, to push through the result and win the match," said head coach Gerardo 'Tata' Martino. "The players deserve all the credit."
Next Match
Next, Inter Miami faces a quick turnaround as the team will host the Columbus Crew at Chase Stadium on Wednesday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Stats:
Possession:
PHI - 46%
MIA - 54%
Shots:
PHI - 20
MIA - 10
Saves:
PHI - 2
MIA - 3
Corners:
PHI - 6
MIA - 3
Fouls:
PHI - 8
MIA - 11
