Inter Miami settles for 0-0 tie at Atlanta; gets closer to signing Gonzalo Higuain
Once again, gritty Inter Miami created plenty of scoring chances, but could not find the back of the net and had to settle for a scoreless tie against Atlanta United in a foul-plagued road game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Miami recorded its first shutout of the season, but dropped to 1-6-1, not the start the expansion team envisioned. Over the past two games, Miami took 29 shots, eight of them on frame, and failed to score.
Coach Diego Alonso made three lineup changes, replaced Matias Pellegrini and Julian Carranza with Brek Shea and Juan Agudelo up front, and still, the team was unable to finish.
Defender Nico Figal missed a point-blank shot late in the first half off a perfect cross from Lewis Morgan, Rodolfo Pizarro and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez both had shots sail over the crossbar, and Agudelo shot wide in the closing minutes.
“The team had the most complete game we’ve played so far, I was happy with what I saw, we deserved a win,” said Alonso. “We have to keep seeking goals, being aggressive on offense, we had great opportunities, found the spaces, but missed the final touch. But we defended well. It’s the first time we had a clean sheet. If I’m not mistaken Atlanta in 60 home games has not scored only twice, so that shows how we played.”
There is reason for hope for the offensive woes. World Cup-winning French midfielder Blaise Matuidi will make his team debut next week and Argentine veteran forward Gonzalo Higuain, Matuidi’s Juventus teammate, is apparently on the way.
News spread around the world Wednesday that Inter Miami is closing in on a deal to sign Higuain, 32, one of the world’s most prolific scorers between 2008 and 2018. He scored a total of 196 goals for Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus over those years. He also scored 31 goals in 75 games with the Argentine national team.
A league source confirmed the team has been in talks with Higuain. The Washington Post reported that D.C. United is receiving the standard $50,000 from Inter Miami for Higuain’s MLS discovery rights, which were held by D.C. The Argentine made $16 million last season and would become one of the highest-paid players in MLS.
Also, back in South Florida, newly-signed Matuidi is awaiting clearance to begin training. Coach Diego Alonso said he would be available to play next week, perhaps in Sunday’s home game against Nashville, but more likely the Sept. 9 home game against Atlanta.
Matuidi signed with Inter Miami a few weeks ago and arrived in South Florida last week.
D.C. United reportedly explored the possibility of signing Higuain in May and reuniting him with his older brother, Federico, 35, who joined the team in March. Their mother is sick in Argentina, so reports said Gonzalo would like to be closer to her, and that he also has considered going back home to play in the Argentine league.
But it appears Higuain will take Miami’s offer, giving the club the world-class scorer owners have been promising since the launch of the team.
Inter Miami needs the help. Against Atlanta, Miami started off a bit slow but after a few minutes began to control the tempo and put together scoring opportunities. Shea, making his first start, was familiar with the opponent as he used to play for Atlanta United.
The best scoring chance of the first half came when Pizarro passed the ball to Morgan, who crossed to a charging Figal directly in front of the goal. Figal got his foot on it, but it sailed wide left.
Early in the second half, Gonzalez Pirez, also playing against his former team, missed a shot from six yards out and buried his head in his hands in frustration. Pizarro’s shot in the 56th minute went over the crossbar.
Alonso made a few subs in the 73rd minute – Robbie Robinson in for Morgan and Wil Trapp in for Jay Chapman. A few minutes later, Pellegrini came in for Shea and had a few nice crosses, but it wasn’t enough.
“I felt we would leave with more, we were better than the rival,” Figal said. “We generated more chances. They didn’t reach our goal. So we are leaving with a bitter taste, but happy because we were able to get the clean sheet.”
Atlanta was without Argentine player Pity Martinez, who was headed to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr for a reported $18 million.
Inter Miami was scheduled to fly home immediately after the game. The team plays at home Sunday against Nashville at 8 p.m.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 10:10 PM.