Without Messi and with a burst of Luis Suarez, Inter Miami beat Cincinnati 2-0 and secured their qualification to the MLS playoffs

Inter Miami beat Cincinnati 2-0 with two goals from Luis Suárez and qualified for the MLS Playoffs

Inter Miami achieved a 2-0 victory over Cincinnati in a match corresponding to the 28th round of the MLS, which allows the team managed by Tata Martino to comfortably continue as leader of the United States competition and qualified for the Playoffs, even without the presence of Lionel Messi, who is recovering from an injury to his right ankle.

The Garzas came out determined to overwhelm their rival with an offensive voracity that was rewarded just a few seconds into the match. Before the first minute of play had passed, Luis Suárez scored his 17th goal of the season, surpassing the record set by Gonzalo Higuaín (16) as the club’s top scorer in a season.

However, this mark was overshadowed by the Pistolero’s emotional gesture in his celebration. The former Nacional de Uruguay player lifted his shirt to show a message, which said “strength Juan” in reference to Bolso’s footballer, Juan Izquierdo, who suffered an arrhythmia during the match against San Pablo for the Copa Libertadores, had to be taken away by ambulance and remains hospitalized in intensive care.

The 37-year-old forward scored his brace in the sixth minute and, from then on, Martino’s men were determined to preserve the result until Tomás Avilés was sent off for a second yellow card in the 41st minute. Despite playing with one man less, they were able to maintain the lead heading into half-time.

Luis Suarez’s message to Juan Izquierdo (Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)

For the pink team, Argentines Marcelo Weigandt, Héctor David Martínez, Tomás Avilés and Federico Redondo started, the latter being replaced by Benjamín Cremaschi in the 85th minute. Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s team had the presence of Luca Orellano and Luciano Acosta, who came on in the second half.

This was Inter Miami’s return to the local arena after the painful elimination in the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup against Columbus Crew. The champion of the last edition had had a mixed first phase with a victory against Puebla (2-0) and a loss against Tigres (1-2). Already in the round of 32, they defeated Toronto 4-3 in a great match. It is worth noting that they were deprived of Lionel Messi for the entire competition, who remained injured since the final of the Copa América.

The Garzas’ most iconic player suffered “an injury to the ligaments of his right ankle” with the Argentine national team during the final of the continental title against Colombia in the United States, which prevented him from finishing the match at the Hard Rock Stadium. “The captain’s availability will be determined by periodic check-ups and by the development of his recovery,” the medical report concluded.

There are still no details on when his official return to the pitch will take place, but Tata Martino gave details on how Leo is doing: “The timing is more or less there, he is not training with the group, he is already going out on the pitch and working with the physical trainers and is progressing well, it was foreseeable that he would not be with Argentina because he is not yet in condition to play, but we are still doing well.” “I wouldn’t dare to tell you in days, but it is not a situation that is too far away,” he clarified in response to the insistence of journalists.

The Florida team’s next match will be next Saturday, the 31st, at 9:30 p.m. (Argentine time) against Chicago Fire as a visitor. Then, there will be a two-week break for the FIFA date. There, Messi will be able to rest because he was not called up by Lionel Scaloni for the matches against Chile and Colombia for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

Inter Miami leads the Eastern Conference (Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports)

The Garzas will play again on Saturday, September 14 at home against Philadelphia Union (8:30 p.m.), on Wednesday the 18th they will visit Atlanta United at the same time and on Saturday the 21st they will leave Florida again to face New York City starting at 3 p.m.

Initially, the absence of Lionel Messi was thought to be a headache, but the opposite happened. The squad, which also did not have Suárez due to his call-up to the Uruguayan national team for the Copa América, was strengthened with a streak of eight wins in the last 11 matches prior to facing Cincinnati. Precisely, this rival was one of those that beat them 6-1 in the domestic tournament and the others were Tigres and Columbus Crew in the Leagues Cup.

Inter Miami is currently the leader of the Eastern Conference and, with 10 rounds left in the Regular Season, has a considerable advantage over Orlando City (34 points), which is the last team to automatically enter the MLS Playoffs.

Formations:

Referee: Armando Villarreal

Stadium: Chase

The Major League Soccer table: