INTER MIAMI PLAYER RATINGS VS PHILADELPHIA UNION: JULIAN GRESSEL AND LEO AFONSO SAVE NINE-MAN HERONS TO OVERCOME ABSENCES OF LIONEL MESSI AND LUIS SUAREZ
Inter Miami will look themselves in the mirror when they get back to their Philadelphia hotel rooms on Saturday night and ask themselves one question: "How in the world did we pull that off?"
With no Lionel Messi, no Luis Suarez and down to nine men due to a pair of untimely red cards, the Herons still escaped Subaru Park with a 2-1 win. It was an almost impossible result, but one that somehow happened. Somehow, some way, Inter Miami earned three points from a match that required a miracle to get just one, particularly without Messi and Suarez out of the team.
It can't be understated how big those losses are. They've combined for 24 goals, more than 12 entire MLS teams. Without those two, Miami are in survival mode until their return, and they did more than survive on Saturday.
Despite conceding an early goal to Mikael Uhre, the Herons fought back with a goal of their own from Julian Gressel. It was a big finish from the MLS veteran, who took advantage of some Jordi Alba magic and a Benjamin Cremaschi assist to level the score.
Miami had the better chances to score as the game wore on, but they seemingly threw away their hopes of stealing a win. A pair of red cards to David Ruiz and Tomas Aviles left Miami scrambling with nine men and begging for time to wind down on a draw.
They ended up earning more.
A stunning stoppage-time goal from Leo Afonso stunned the Union and, in some ways, Inter Miami, who took home a win that few could have ever predicted. And what an important win this might be, one that could help a lot later in the season when they look back at this time without the two attacking stars.
GOAL rates Inter Miami's players from Subaru Park...
Goalkeeper & Defense
Drake Callender (6/10):
Couldn't do much on the goal and wasn't challenged too much otherwise.
Jordi Alba (7/10):
Did most of the hard work on Gressel's goal, even if he won't get credited with the assist. With Messi and Suarez out, his ability to make things happen from out wide is huge.
Serhiy Kryvtsov (6/10):
Just didn't have the pace to save Miami once Uhre broke away. Can't fault him for the goal, though, and he was solid with his own defending.
Tomas Aviles (3/10):
No clue what he was doing on the Union's early goal and was disastrously sent off late. Simply inexcusable, even for a young defender.
Marcelo Weigandt (6/10):
Was a bit more effective in the attack, but didn't really change the game.
Midfield
Sergio Busquets (7/10):
A typically steady performance from the midfielder, who put up the passing numbers you'd expect from him particularly with Messi out.
Benjamin Cremaschi (7/10):
Credited with the assist, although it came as a result of a bad tough. He'll surely take it, though! Outside of that moment, he was very, very active on both sides of the ball.
David Ruiz (4/10):
Discipline is starting to become a concern with Ruiz, who was sent off with about 25 minutes remaining. You just can't afford that in a tie game, which is a lesson Ruiz should have learned by now.
Attack
Robert Taylor (6/10):
Did his thing to try and stretch the defense, but didn't really create anything meaningful for himself or others.
Leo Campana (6/10):
Forced a really big save midway through the second half. That turned out to be his best look on goal, though, as he couldn't quite generate enough meaningful chances.
Julian Gressel (8/10):
One heck of a finish. Gressel stepped forward into a wing position with Messi out and he made the most of his time in attack, scoring a fantastic equalizer.
Subs & Manager
Yannick Bright (6/10):
Was brought in to provide some energy with the Herons down a man at the time.
Noah Allen (N/A):
Thrown on in stoppage time to help kill the game.
Leo Afonso (9/10):
Same as above, but he killed it in a different way. His late goal was a stunner and could prove to be a season-defining moment for this team.
Gerardo Martino (8/10):
Credit to Martino for having this team ready to play without Messi and Suarez. Bonus points for guiding this team to three points they didn't necessarily deserve.