Inter Miami dominates, Gonzalo Higuain scores, but Orlando City rallies for 2-1 win
A night for the fans to enjoy and remember.
That is what Inter Miami coach Phil Neville promised before Friday’s home game against red-hot Orlando City, which had scored eight goals in its previous two matches. Miami entered as the underdog, mired in a three-game scoreless, winless streak.
A sellout crowd of 17,926 packed DRV PNK Stadium, including U.S. winger Christian Pulisic, Argentine Juventus forward Paulo Dybala and more than 250 purple-clad Orlando City fans who made the trek from central Florida and enjoyed a lively pre-game tailgate party.
Fans got their money’s worth with plenty of exciting end-to-end play and a firecracker of a go-ahead goal by Gonzalo Higuain in the 67th minute.
But the home fans went home disappointed once again after Orlando rallied in the final 20 minutes to win 2-1 on a “magical” 80th-minute goal by Nani, in the words of Neville.
Nani also delivered a perfect cross on Chris Muller’s 73rd-minute tying goal.
“We were beaten by probably one player, a player I know well, two moments of magic from Nani,” said Neville. “Nani’s goal was a moment of absolute brilliance. It looked unstoppable. You get beaten in games by moments of magic. That was the difference. We nullified him every bit of the game but two moments. Big players stand up in the big moments. That’s what we need in our team. They had a match winner, a guy willing to win the game on his own.”
Miami dropped to 2-6-2 and remains winless through five home games with four losses and a tie. Orlando won its fourth game in a row and is 6-1-3.
“It feels really bad, but there are much worse things happening in Miami the past 24 hours,” Neville said after the game, referring to the collapsed Surfside condo tragedy. “Everyone in Inter Miami donated money and we will do everything possible. It shook everyone in the football club.”
The night began with a moment of silence for the victims of the collapsed condominium in Surfside. Inter Miami players wore black armbands and the club announced it had donated $10,000 to the Support Surfside Relief Fund.
“In terms of the game, I am disappointed and angry, but really proud,” Neville said. “When you talk about what you want to see, that is what I saw. I’m absolutely convinced if we keep that level of performance the results will turn.”
For 70 minutes, Miami was the better team.
Higuain, who did not travel to last week’s D.C. game because he was not game-fit, came off the bench and scored a spectacular cross-body goal into the left corner in the 67th minute on his second touch of the game to give Miami a 1-0 lead. The crowd went wild. Pink smoke filled the north stands, and fans serenaded him with “Ole-Ole-Ole”.
“Even though we were very good in the first half, we lacked (Higuain’s) composure and quality and that was shown obviously,” Neville said. “We’re working really hard with Gonzalo.”
The stadium rocked from the opening whistle. The atmosphere was as electric as Inter Miami players had hoped, and the home team fed off the energy.
Inter Miami – with its highest-priced players Higuain and Rodolfo Pizarro on the bench the first half -- played with more urgency than Orlando, was quicker to the ball, and moved with cohesion as a unit.
Midfielder Blaise Matuidi played his best game since joining Miami last summer.
“Blaise had his best game in a Miami shirt, including the games I saw last season,” Neville said. “He performed at a level that showed why he’s a World Cup winner.”
Matuidi said: “You can play good but at the end you lose because we did not focus on details. We are disappointed for that. I am one of the players with experience, so I knew I had to be better. Tonight I wanted to prove that the team needs me. I can play well but we lose. I prefer the team win.”
The game remained knotted 0-0 at halftime.
Orlando was playing its third game in seven days, so maybe its players were a bit weary. Whatever the reason, Inter Miami was the better team for the majority of the night.
Miami has played among its best games against Orlando City. Last season the clubs split their four matchups, with Miami winning its two home games, 2-1 and 3-2.
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 11:13 PM.