With the loss of their leader due to injury, Lionel MessiInter Miami received a 4-0 win on Saturday at the New York Red Bulls court with a hat trick of Lewis Morgan, former player of the team coached by Gerardo Martino. The Scottish striker scored in the 3rd, 51st and 70th minutes and the Venezuelan Wikelman Carmona did so in the 66th minute in a match played under a torrential rain at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison (New Jersey).
Inter, which may lose its leadership of the MLS Eastern Conference, had the notable absence of Messi due to his hamstring injury. Tata Martino did tell Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, his other former Barcelona figures, but his squad was completely overwhelmed by Red Bulls, who were lethal on the counterattack. The connection between the Belgian Dante Vanzeir, who distributed the four goal assists, and Morgan wreaked havoc on Martino’s five-player defense.
The Scot, who played for Inter between 2020 and 2021, He did not celebrate any of his three goals, which placed him at the top of the North American League (MLS) scoring table with five goals in two games, due to his past in the rival. To add a touch of epic to his performance, Morgan was replaced amidst a standing ovation from the fans present in the stadium.
The Uruguayan Suárez, who led the standings with four goals, missed the absence of his partner Messi and barely received any balls in the danger zone. Inter thus suffered its second defeat in its first six games of the campaign, both without the presence of Messi. The franchise co-owned by David Beckham is temporarily maintained at the tip of the east with 10 points, the same as Red Bulls and Columbus Crew, who have one and two games less than Inter.
Morgan’s revenge
In the midst of the storm, the match began to become difficult for Inter when, before three minutes had passed, Morgan gave the locals the lead on the scoreboard with a cross shot from the edge of the area. Jordi Alba and Suárez, with deflected shots, did not complete the few arrivals before the break for an Inter that, without the Paraguayan Diego Gómez and the Argentine Federico Redondo, was unable to control the center of the field. Martino’s players then left the locker room several minutes late, causing protests from their rivals and whistles from the fans, who stoically endured the downpour.
It didn’t take long for Inter’s defense to lose a ball in its field that Frankie Amaya gave to Vanzeir to enable Morgan again, who made it 2-0 with another shot that hit the post. Morgan himself then threw himself onto the grass to prevent a ball from going out the sideline and stood in the area in an action that ended with Carmona’s third goal. The Scot completed his hat-trick on a counterattack in which Vanzeir enabled him when he was alone on the penalty spot.
Red Bulls Julian Hall, a promise of just 15 years old, was allowed to make his debut, while Inter continued searching unsuccessfully for the goal of honor. Suárez, who did not mix well in attack with the Ecuadorian Leonardo Campana, remained on the pitch until the final whistle but his most dangerous action, a drive from the left in stoppage time, ended with an own shot by defender Dylan Nealis that It crashed into the post.