Without Lionel Messi and Luis Surez, Inter Miami signed a heroic performance this Saturday, beating the Philadelphia Union 1-2 in stoppage time despite being left with nine players.
Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino’s team had everything against them for this one, not only because of the absences of the internationals for the Copa Amrica and the Euro Cup but because, in a defensive mistake, they conceded a goal in the 3rd minute by Mikael Uhre.
Julian Gressel tied the match after the break, but the evening in Philadelphia looked like a nightmare for Inter Miami after the red card shown Honduran David Ruiz in the 69th minute and Argentinian Toms Avils in the 84th minute.
But when everything seemed to be going in the right direction for the Philadelphia Union, the young Brazilian Leo Afonso organized a counterattack out of nowhere against a terrible defense by the local team and gave Inter Miami an epic, amazing and absolutely unexpected victory in the 94th minute.
An expert in comebacks this season, Inter Miami, in which the Spaniards Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba played 90 minutes, remains the leader of the East with 38 points.
Lionel Messi’s impact on the MLS
In two years, Lionel Messi knew how to devour the MLS’ marketing and has already won his first title with Inter Miami CF in the 2023 Leagues Cup. But even more, the Argentinian has won a World Cup in his career, which makes him more of a fan favorite. In the league, Sergio Busquets has also won a World Cup with Spain.
With that said, number 10 forward occupies the number 1 position on the list of best-selling Adidas jerseys in the league, according to data from MLSstore.com; in the Top 25 classification, fourteen nationalities are represented.
Two other South American players appear on the list, Luis Surez, and MVP Luciano Acosta of FC Cincinnati occupy second and third place on the list, respectively, with Columbus forward Juan ‘Cucho’ Hernndez and Galaxy midfielder Riqui Riqui round up the list.