Despite scoring his 14th goal of the season, Lionel Messi couldn’t save Inter Miami from experiencing their fourth defeat in five matches. The team’s latest setback came in a 2-1 loss to Toronto FC on Saturday.
Messi scored with a first-time finish after receiving a through ball from Rodrigo De Paul, finding the net with just eight minutes left in regulation. However, the home team’s late attempt at a comeback fell short at Nu Stadium.
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Toronto had earlier surged ahead with two goals within three minutes of the second half, netted by U.S. forward Josh Sargent and Derrick Etienne Jr. This victory marked only Toronto’s fifth win in 21 MLS games this season.
In addition to two losses that knocked them out of the Leagues Cup, Miami faced a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Nashville SC just a week ago. A midweek 2-2 draw with the Philadelphia Union, where Messi also scored, ended their losing streak, but it has now been nearly a month since Miami secured a win in MLS.
Following this result, Nashville has widened its lead over Miami to 10 points atop both the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings. While Miami still holds second place in the East, last season’s MLS Champions must now be wary of ensuring a top-four position to secure home-field advantage for the first playoff round.
“We’re currently dealing with a challenging situation regarding results that we didn’t experience earlier,” Miami head coach Guillermo Hoyos remarked. “This struggle impacts our mindset, which can affect our performance.”
Hoyos, who took over in April after replacing Javier Mascherano, admitted he had not received any word from the club’s ownership regarding his future following the team’s disappointing performance.
In addition to the loss, Miami received bad news as Messi and defender Ian Fray were fined by MLS on Friday for making contact to the head and neck area of opponents during separate incidents against Philadelphia.
In contrast, Toronto has found form, going four matches unbeaten and entering playoff contention.
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Josh Sargent with a Spectacular Goal vs. Inter Miami CF
“I’m not going to pretend everything is perfect,” remarked Sargent, whose goal on Saturday marked just his fourth for Toronto since joining the team in the offseason for an initial fee of $22 million. “We still have a long road ahead, but the spirit of this team is to fight until the end.”
“We had a great result against Charlotte a few days ago and another one against New England. This is a massive win for us. Hopefully, we can maintain this momentum moving forward.”
Report contributed by ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano.