No Messi, no problem: Redondo, Gómez put Inter Miami back in Supporters’ Shield lead

Martino opted not to “speculate” on the status of Messi, who departed La Albiceleste‘s victory on Sunday 20 miles south of Fort Lauderdale at Hard Rock Stadium with an ankle injury and was shown in tears on the bench in potentially his final major international tournament appearance. Miami were also without Suárez, a second-half substitute on Wednesday, for an extended period as he was part of Uruguay’s Copa América side.

That’s opened the door for younger players such as Gómez and Redondo, both 21, to fill the void. Gómez now has 3g/6a through 12 league matches (10 starts), while Redondo opened his MLS account in style to add to his three assists in eight appearances.

Miami have also received contributions from U.S. Olympic team member Benjamin Cremaschi (3g/3a through 14 matches) and fellow homegrown Ian Fray, among others.

“They’ve understood that this month, a little bit more, that they were going to have to play a lot of games also,” Martino said of his young players. “And that has been very beneficial because it has made us grow.”