Wednesday was the latest banner day of this Inter Miami era. Another one of Lionel Messi's friends is reportedly close to coming to town, and this particular one, Rodrigo De Paul, isn't just coming to play. He's known as Messi's bodyguard, a physical force that inspires fear in others and comfort in his teammates. He's also one hell of a footballer. Inter Miami have done well to navigate the rules to get him in - if it happens.
That was Wednesday afternoon, though. Wednesday night? Not a successful navigation of anything. In fact, Wednesday's clash was more of a sleepwalk, one that showed just how helpful someone like De Paul can be when he does inevitably arrive.
On the road in Cincinnati, Messi and Miami couldn't find any of their trademark magic in a 3-0 defeat. The Argentine was held scoreless for the first time in seven games, having scored 11 goals in that span. On Wednesday, he got close a few times, but never close enough. There were a few decent looks, a blocked shot, and a curled effort from range chief among them, but it was Cincinnati that made the most of their chances, not Messi and Miami.
The opening goal came relatively early, as the right side of Miami's defense collapsed under pressure from Luca Orellano. The Argentine was able to play through Gerardo Valenzuela, who made no mistake with his far-post finish to give the hosts an early advantage.
Cincy's advantage was doubled early in the second half in another instance of Miami's defensive frailty. The Herons' defense was buzzed through by Cincy star Evander, who pushed off Sergio Busquets before slotting home to make it 2-0. Evander then made it three in the 70th minute, firing home from close range after backup goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo, who came on after Oscar Ustari left with an apparent injury, parried a shot right into his path. On this night, it was that easy for him, and it was that hard for Miami to do anything right.
On a day when Miami seemingly got better, they suffered one of their worst defeats of the season. They'll have to move on quickly, too, with another game this weekend against the New York Red Bulls, and they'll surely be eager to get to it after such a rough night in Ohio.
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