Player Ratings From Inter Miami's Rebound Match vs. NYCFC

+ a health update on Messi, Freire.

Mar 31, 2024

photo credit: Inter Miami CF

Ahead of an important CONCACAF Champions Cup matchup next Wednesday, Inter Miami looked to bounce back at home after a 4-0 loss to the Red Bulls.

In a tightly contested game, the Herons took on fellow Eastern Conference side, NYCFC.

The match began with Miami pushing the tempo, with the men in pink looking to get on the scoresheet quickly.

It worked! And in the 15th minute, it was none other than Luis Suárez breaking the deadlock, netting his 5th goal of the season. However, NYCFC eventually came around, getting an equalizer through Alonso Martinez shortly after that.

This was a match where Miami statistically should’ve won. Looking at the xG tally throughout the game, the Herons out shot NYCFC 6 to 3 on goal and 16 to 10 in total.

On the bright side, the MLS season is long and Miami will continue to grow as a team as the season progresses.

But, as of right now, the biggest prize is set to kick off next Wednesday as the club takes on Monterrey.

Here are Player Ratings from Miami’s game vs. NYCFC.

Goalkeeping, Defense:

🧤 Drake Callendar - 8: Came up with some monster saves that kept the game level.
🎻 Marcelo Weigandt - 8.5: Very nice debut from the Boca Juniors man. Looking forward to seeing how he does with a full-strength squad around him.
🧮 Sergio Busquets - 7: Didn’t do poorly at center half, he was just…..a little too slow, to be fair. His passing range is excellent, though.
⛵ Ryan Sailor - 7.5: Did a solid job considering the circumstances. Would like to see him get more playing time if Kryvstov can’t stay fit.
💨 Jordi Alba - 8: Once more, didn’t put a foot wrong. May have been caught out a few times, but he more than makes up for it in the attacking end.

Midfield:

☀️ Yannick Bright - 6.7: Physically, did well during duels, but there were too many wayward passes that made me uncomfortable.
💈 David Ruiz - 8.3: Ruiz is slowly improving with each game. He looked comfortable on the ball and his technical ability is a joy to watch.
✌️ Diego Gómez - 8: Still very impressed with his stamina. Has to work on his creativity in the final third, but Inter Miami is blessed to have a player of his profile on the roster.

Attack:

🥨 Julian Gressel - 8.3: Have you guys seen the film Everything Everywhere All At Once? Yeah, that was Gressel during the game.
🔫 Luis Suárez - 9: Scored the only goal of the night and was Miami’s most consistent attacking threat.
🪽 Robert Taylor - 7.5: Fans love you, Robert Taylor - and that’s what counts the most.

Substitutes:

🦌 Tomas Avilés - 6.5 Didn’t have much to do on the defensive end to warrant a higher rating, but hopefully he’ll be ready to play a full 90 next week.
🦁 (#73) Leo Afonso - N/A: Inter Miami sign him to a first-team contract, now! ₚₗₑₐₛₑ?
🏠 (#82) Pep Casas - N/A: Casas is a midfielder from Spain. I’m sure he’s pleased to be sharing a field with someone like Busquets.

Coaching:

🔢 Tata Martino - 6.8: I feel that Tata did as best as he could have, given how shorthanded he was. If anything, Miami had multiple chances at scoring the game-winning goal but didn’t quite connect. The manager can only do so much if things aren’t going the player’s way on the field.

A Health Update on…..Messi and Freire:

Tata: “They’re going day by day. Depending on the next few days, we’ll define whether they’ll be able to play or not. We’ll look at them on Monday and Tuesday, and on Wednesday, we’ll decide.”

Tata did go on to say, that they’re not completely ruled out. The medical staff doesn’t want to jeopardize the players and risk them getting a long-term injury.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below! Let’s discuss it!