Messi leads Inter Miami into tough road test at Real Salt Lake, Bright suspended
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates spent the past five days out west, in the mountains, far away from South Florida, getting acclimated to new coach Guillermo Hoyos and the altitude in Colorado and Utah.
They passed their first test under Hoyos with a 3-2 win against the Colorado Rapids in front of nearly 76,000 spectators, the second-largest crowd in MLS history. On Wednesday, they face another tall task 4,500 feet above sea level against upstart Real Salt Lake, coached by former Miami Fusion and U.S. star Pablo Mastroneni.
A smaller, but fervent sellout crowd of 21,000-plus is expected at America First Field for the 9:30 p.m. game (Apple TV).
According to TickPick, the Real Salt Lake-Inter-Miami matchup is the most expensive MLS ticket of the season with an average purchase price of $468. The current “get-in” (lowest) price is $419, which is 1,396 percent more expensive than Real Salt Lake’s following home game against the Timbers on May 2nd ($28).
Salt Lake is 5-1-1 and off to its best start in 22 years. Mastroeni’s team has gone six games unbeaten since losing its season opener to the Vancouver Whitecaps, including a 4-2 win Saturday against San Diego. Salt Lake scored two goals in the first six minutes and four in the first half.
Spanish rookie Sergi Solans, a draft pick from UCLA, scored two goals, and U.S. national team midfielder Diego Luna had a goal and a pair of assists. Solans leads his team with five goals and one assist.
Other Real Salt Lake players of note include former Inter Miami captain De Andre Yedlin, forward Morgan Guilavogui, who came from French first-division Lens and plays for Guinea’s national team, and 19-year-old homegrown winger Zavier Gozo, who has two goals and four assists in seven games.
Another familiar face to South Florida soccer fans is RSL assistant coach Anthony Pulis, who coached at Inter Miami and Miami FC.
Inter Miami’s defense has been vulnerable all season and conceded two goals in each of its past four games. That is something that must be corrected, and is especially vital against a team like Salt Lake, said Miami defenders Facundo Mura and Maxi Falcon.
Adding to the challenge, Miami will be without defensive midfielder Yannick Bright, who will be serving a red-card suspension after being ejected in the 87th minute of the Colorado game for offensive language. According to the referee report, Bright used a racial slur that is slang for punk or coward. MLS continues to review the matter and had not yet determined if the suspension will extend beyond one game.
“It was great to get three points on the road, we needed a win, but we continue to give up leads, and those momentary mistakes cost us dearly,” Mura said. “We shouldn’t have to score three goals to win games.”
Falcon agreed.
“In the second half [Saturday] because of lack of concentration, which has happened on a few occasions this season, we gave up two goals and this is a league where there is a lot of goal scoring,” Falcon said. “It’s rare in this league to see a 0-0 game. Also, because of our attacking style of play, we take more risks and we then we must be more careful to win our individual duels.
“We know that getting clean sheets is important. We have to keep working to strengthen our defense. Last year in the playoffs we found a way to allow fewer goals and we won the title.”
Miami’s attack continues to center on Messi, who scored two of the three goals against the Rapids, including the game-winner. He was voted MLS Player of the Week. The 38-year-old Argentine captain has seven goals in seven games this season and ranks second in the Golden Boot race behind FC Dallas striker Petar Musa, who has nine goals.
German Berterame, Miami’s $15 million winter signing, has scored in back-to-back games after going scoreless in his first six. Mateo Silvetti limped out of Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury, and his status for the Salt Lake game is unknown.
Inter Miami is unbeaten in seven games and sits in second place in the Eastern Conference with 15 points off four wins, three ties and a loss to LAFC in the season opener. The team is eager to pick up a second road win from this trip before heading home to Nu Stadium for Saturday’s game against the New England Revolution.
It won’t be easy. Salt Lake fans are fired up.
“The fans show up, it’s been sold out almost every game, which helps us,” Yedlin said. “The altitude definitely is not easy to play in, either. I’ve had experience playing here as the away team and that first five to 10 minutes is just horrible, trying to catch your breath.”
Asked about blocking out the hype around Messi’s visit to Utah, Yedlin said: “We obviously have to respect our opponents and the qualities they bring, but we focus on ourselves and the quality this team has. We want to make teams adjust to us, not us adjust to them. If we do that, there’s not a lot of teams out there that can stop us.
Yedlin, a Seattle native, feels at home in the mountains and said his wife and two young children are enjoying the quiet, family-friendly life in Utah. Although he will feel some nostalgia playing against his former team, he said Inter Miami is just another opponent.
“I’m excited, but lot of the players that were there when I was there have now left,” he said. “There’s a few players left, Lionel being one of them. But at the end of the day, it’s our opponent. I want to win the game. We talked about getting nine points this week and we’ve had a good first step towards that. It’s another game. Another three points we can take.”
He does have fond memories of the 2023 Leagues Cup championship run shortly after Messi’s arrival, particularly the moment when Messi gave the captain’s armband back to Yedlin and had him lift the trophy with him.
“That moment went viral because I was captain before he got there, and I gave him the captain’s armband when he came because I’m not going to be on the field with him and me wearing the captain’s armband; that’s for him,” Yedlin said. “When we won Leagues Cup he gave the captain’s armband back to me, which was a great moment for him to show his humility. So, we lifted the trophy together. It was a great moment. But now we’re in the future and it’s business time on Wednesday.”
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 4:40 PM.