Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati played to a scoreless 0-0 draw at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Saturday night, as each side shared the spoils and walked away with a point.
The hosts were severely shorthanded, missing Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, and Maxi Falcon due to suspension, and Allen Obando, Baltasar Rodriguez, Ian Fray, and Oscar Ustari due to injury.
Messi and Alba were suspended by MLS for skipping the All-Star Game midweek, while Falcon missed out due to yellow card accumulation.
With that, the Herons were tasked with an uphill battle, and U.S. international Benjamin Cremaschi was even tasked with playing left back, despite being a natural midfielder. At the end of the day, they walked away with a point, but it was uninspiring.
Their attacking momentum fell flat without Messi on the pitch, and on the flank, they missed the forward progression that Alba would normally bring to wide areas and in the final-third. Their midfield put forth a top-tier performance to keep the likes of FCC's superstar Evander quiet and earn a point.
In the final minutes, chaos erupted as FC Cincinnati appeared to score the go-ahead winner off a header from U.S. international Miles Robinson. However, after a lengthy VAR review, it was determined he fouled a Miami player while leaping into the air by putting his hands to the face of the defender. Miami responded, nearly finding the back of the net, too, but it was cleared off the line by FCC, and the final whistle blew minutes later.
For the Herons, they'll take the draw, considering FCC defeated them just last week 3-0. However, it was a missed opportunity to leap ahead of an Eastern Conference contender.
GOAL rates Inter Miami's players from Chase Stadium.
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