Inter Miami – MASSIVE REPORT

Five games winless for the Black & Gold, a frustrating string of games has seen the Crew’s defense leak goals while good chances go begging at the other end. Not exactly a recipe for success. Despite this, the Columbus Crew has only lost once in those five matches and remains in contention at the top of the Eastern Conference.

The Crew has a chance to get back on track with a trip to Fort Lauderdale to face Messi and Inter Miami on Saturday. Miami enters on the back of a skid in form as well. They had only won once in nine previous matches before defeating Montreal on Wednesday. Both the Crew and Miami need three points in this match to keep pace at the top of the East and stop the bleeding of their recent form. In their previous meeting, the Black & Gold dominated Miami in Cleveland and still came away with no points as a Benjamin Cremaschi goal was the difference between the two sides. Do the Crew have enough in the tank to go into Chase Stadium and get three points?

Inter Miami at a glance:

Form: W-D-L-D-L

Record: 7-5-3 (26 Points)

Leading Scorer: Lionel Messi (8 goals)

Assist Leader: Luis Suarez (7 assists)

Player to watch: Lionel Messi

Duh, Messi is the greatest player of all time. You know all about him, MLS Season Pass (and social media) won’t let him slip your mind, so I see no need to keep repeating it. Messi is magic and can do anything he wants in any match. You can’t stop him, you can only contain him.

The Crew will be hoping to contain him on Saturday and limit the damage from the Argentine midfielder.

How Inter Miami Play:

Argentina, Barcelona, and Liverpool legend Javier Mascherano is in his first season as a head coach at the senior level. Mascherano brings experience from his time in charge of Argentina’s U20 and U23 teams with him to Miami and suddenly finds himself coaching the likes of Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and others.

It helps that Mascherano has played with all of them at Barcelona and knows exactly the style and culture that Messi & Co. are looking for. There’s been very little nuance to Mascherano’s system since taking the helm in Miami, but please don’t confuse that with it being a bad tactical setup. Mascherano’s side lines up in a way that allows them to maximize their talent advantage and keep teams uncomfortable with and without the ball. 

When they have the ball, Miami’s 4-3-3 turns into a 4-2-1-3, with Messi being by himself to give him maximum time and space to do what he does best. The outside backs will push high up the field in wide areas, while the wingers will move higher up the field and a bit more central to occupy the opposing backline. This shape allows Miami to have a good structure to both keep the ball as much as possible as well as create time and space for Messi. In addition, it allows their front three to have a pretty simple job of beating their mark and bearing down on goal. Miami has the sixth best goals per match and the sixth-highest possession percentage for a reason. 

Defensively, Miami has been a little more of a mixed bag. Miami’s defensive setup is usually either a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, depending on personnel and their matchup. Out of these formations, Miami has also shown flexibility on where its line of pressure begins. Against teams who are at or below average in possession, Miami will usually press higher up the field, as there’s less risk of being beaten by a string of passes. Against better in possession teams, Miami will defend a little deeper, normally about 3/4ths of the field away from their goal. Due to the Crew’s ability in possession and formation, my best guess is we’ll see Miami defend in a mid-block out of a 4-3-3 shape. 

How the Crew can Win

Three points would be a Massive takeaway from this match for the Black & Gold as they look to regain footing amid a horrid stretch of games from a schedule perspective. Here is what Wilfried Nancy’s team needs to focus on on Saturday.

1. Defend Longballs: Miami, San Diego, Nashville, Charlotte, and many more have hurt the Crew with purposeful, direct long balls over the top this season. Miami’s goal on April 19th came from a long ball into the wide channel that was whipped into the box and converted to win the match. The Crew, despite their injuries all across the backline, need to deal with these moments better. Even better if the front line can prevent them from happening in the first place.
2. Keep the Ball: Both the Crew and Miami love to have the ball. The Crew is a bit better at keeping the ball than Miami, they need to maximize that on Saturday. Not only will it keep Miami from getting in a rhythm and lead to frustration for the Herons, but it’ll also lead to goals. For as good as Messi and Suarez are, nobody recognizes them for their defending. Busquets has certainly lost a step, and Miami’s backline and goalkeeper are the weakest part of the team. Possession will likely lead to goals and points on Saturday. 
3. Counterpress Effectively: For as good as Miami is in possession, they’re equally as good on the counterattack. The thought of Messi and the rest of the gang running at a disorganized, outnumbered backline is a scary thought. Look for the Crew to keep these moments from happening by winning the ball back quickly when they lose it.