Inter Miami vs Nashville kicked off on Wednesday night as Miami looked to bounce back from their defeat at home last weekend without Lionel Messi. With the return of Lionel Messi, the club looked re-energized and trashed Nashville 3-1 in the second leg of the Round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Let’s take a look at how the game went down at Chase Stadium and the Inter Miami vs Nashville player ratings.
Inter Miami vs Nashville: Inter Miami’s stars terrorize a weak Nashville defense!
Leo Messi returned to the Inter Miami side after missing the game in MLS on the weekend due to a minor injury. With his return, Miami looked re-energized and hungry to register a victory. The intent was visible on the pitch as Luis Suarez scored a fantastic goal after a wonderful series of passing between several players including Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and finally Leo Messi. Leo’s ball found Suarez perfectly to put Miami 1-0 up on the night and 3-2 on aggregate. Inter Miami continued to dominate play and soon scored their second goal as Leo Messi decided to etch his name onto the score sheet.
Going back into the dressing room at half-time, the score already read 2-0 in Miami’s favor and 4-2 on aggregate. This prompted manager Martino to withdraw Leo from the pitch just in minute 50. However, Miami continued dominating the game and soon scored a third goal as Luis Suarez assisted Messi’s replacement Robert Taylor on the pitch. Nashville earned themselves a late consolation goal to end the tie 3-1 on the day and 5-3 on aggregate. The goal might’ve eased the pain of the harsh defeat a little as Miami’s attack terrorized Nashville’s defense all night.
On that note, let’s take a look at the Inter Miami vs Nashville Player Ratings!
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Inter Miami vs Nashville Player Ratings:
Inter Miami Player Ratings:
Drake Callender (GK): 6.5/10
Drake made up for his poor outing last weekend by making a couple of crucial saves against Nashville. However, he had little to do for large portions of the game.
Julian Gressel: 7.25 /10
Julian was deployed as right wing back today and the German didn’t disappoint. Gressel played one key pass and won all of his duels for Inter Miami vs Nashville.
Tomas Aviles: 6.75/10
Tomas had another impressive outing in defense tonight. The defender made two important tackles and two crucial interceptions.
Serhiy Kryvtsov: 6.4/10
The center back had an improved showing from last weekend in the heart of defense and completed 87% of his passes attempted. However, Miami might be concerned about the defender’s fitness as he came off with an apparent injury in the 77th minute.
Nicolas Freire: 7.5/10
Miami’s best defender on the night, Nicolas made 10 clearances and completed 51/60 passes. The left side of Miami’s defense was impenetrable due to his presence.
Jordi Alba: 7/10
Alba missed the first leg of the tie against Nashville, but his presence in the second half proved more than enough for Inter Miami to progress. The ex-Barcelona man played one key pass while making two crucial tackles. Alba was also involved heavily in the first goal for Miami.
Federico Redondo: 7/10
Redondo continued to impress fans with his antics in the midfield. The Argentinian completed 95% of his attempted passes and played several key passes.
Sergio Busquets: 7/10
The Octopus as Barcelona fans affectionately called him returned to the starting XI with a good performance. Sergio made five clearances and completed 40/45 passes.
Diego Gomez
Diego Gomez had a fantastic outing as created one big chance and played many key passes. Gomez also assisted Leo Messi’s goal.
Leo Messi (C): 8.85/10
Captain Lionel Messi returned to the side and ensured a victory for Inter Miami in just 50 minutes. The football legend scored and assisted before Tata Martino decided to rest him five minutes into the second half. Unreal performance as usual and Inter Miami’s best player on the night.
Luis Suarez: 8/10
Luis Suarez continues to redefine boundaries for a striker. The Uruguayan scored and assisted for Inter Miami vs Nashville and ranked second highest in the player ratings for Inter Miami.
Inter Miami Substitutes:
Robert Taylor: 7.25/10
Taylor scored an impressive goal for Miami after coming on for Leo Messi to seal the game for Inter Miami.
Noah Allen: 7/10
Allen came on as a substitute for the injured Serhiy Kryvstov in defense. He was efficient and blocked a sizzling shot in front of goal.
David Ruiz: 6/10
His substitution failed to make an impact on the game as Miami were already in cruise control by then.
Leonardo Campana: NA
Campana came on too late to make any impact on the game and was merely subbed on to rest Luis Suarez for the last few minutes.
Nashville Player Ratings:
Joe Willis (GK): 6.5/10
There was little Joe Willis could do to stop the constant attack launched on his goal by Inter Miami. He did, however, make a good save inside his box.
Shaq Moore: 7.5/10
The right back was the only one in defense who had a good night for Nashville. Shaq made two tackles and also assisted the goal for Nashville in injury time. On the night, he was the highest ranking player for Nashville in player ratings.
Lukas MacNaughton: 6/10
Lukas had a nightmare in defense as he lost possession several times and also made an error leading to a shot.
Daniel Lovitz: 6.5/10
Lovitz had a mediocre night in defense as he was dribbled past twice. Lovitz also lost possession a whopping 19 times.
Taylor Washington: 6/10
Washington got subbed off at half time as he was barely effective on the left side.
Sean Davis: 7/10
Sean was solid in the midfield and completed 64/66 passes.
Anibal Godoy: 6.5/10
Anibal won three ground duels and complemented his partner Sean Davis in the double pivot. However, they couldn’t stop Miami’s attack for most of the game.
Alex Muyl: 6/10
Muyl had a mediocre outing and was subbed off at halftime by the manager.
Hany Mukhtar: 6.5/10
Captain Hany at times looked like the only creative outlet for Nashville. Hany played two key passes.
Jacob Shaffelburg: 6/10
The winger was invisible for most of the proceedings and didn’t make a real impact on the game.
Tyler Boyd: 7/10
The striker had barely any service and had to drop constantly to connect with the midfield. He took only one shot in the entire game, but played three key passes.
Montreal Substitutes:
Josh Bauer: 6.5/10
Bauer came on for Washington but didn’t add too much to the squad.
Sam Surridge: 7.25/10
Surridge came on for Muyl at halftime and he was impactful from the get go. Sam was the lone scorer for Nashville on the night.
Dru Yearwood: 6.75/10
Yearwood came on only for 22 minutes but played around 27 passes and also played a couple of key passes.
Tah Anunga: 6.5/10
Like Yearwood, Tah also tried to make an impact and played a couple of key passes, but it was too late.
Next up after Inter Miami vs Nashville :
Inter Miami returned to winning ways with the big victory against Nashville and now they will take on DC United on the weekend. The David Beckham club will be a little concerned with Messi facing stiffness yet again and hope that he doesn’t miss the next game. Meanwhile, after Inter Miami vs Nashville, Nashville will look to regroup and win on home turf against Charlotte next weekend.
Also Read: Lionel Messi Likely to Miss Inter Miami’s Next Match Due to Hamstring Injury