Nani scored in injury time to give Orlando
City a 2-1 victory over Miami’s rival, Inter
Miami, in the break that marked him, returned after a four-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The former Manchester United winger took advantage of a poor rebound in the area to give Orlando three points in the group stage of the ‘MLS is Back’ tournament.
Inter Miami, partly owned by former England captain David Beckham, went ahead early in the second half through Juan Agudelo, but the game changed when defender Andrés Reyes was elbowed in the face and had to be removed on a stretcher.
Nani served Christopher Mueller to tie it in the 70th minute before the Portuguese scored the final goal in the 97th minute.
The marked game will be remembered above all for the protest of the players against racial injustice. The players raised their gloved right fists and knelt in solidarity with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement before the start.
The tournament, which was held without fans in a bio-secure ‘bubble’ at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, has got off to a strange start.
Nashville could end up expelled like Dallas for cases of contagion
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All 26 MLS clubs were ready to participate until FC Dallas was withdrawn on Monday after 10 players and a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus. Nashville could follow Dallas after five players tested positive and four more required more tests. On Tuesday, the Vancouver Whitecaps announced that five team members would not make the trip to Orlando due to coronavirus concerns.
Those same concerns led LAFC’s reigning MVP Carlos Vela to choose not to participate in the tournament on Monday.
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