Miami, FL.- What a game.
Tonight, Atlanta United faced off against Inter-Miami CF in a match that would shake the foundation of the MLS Playoffs.
Over the course of the season, it was clear that Inter-Miami were the top dogs across MLS Soccer, nobody could compete with the absolute star power they possessed. Because of this, many projected Inter-Miami to have prematurely punched their ticket to the MLS Championship.
During the Playoff opener, Inter-Miami took a 1-0 lead on the series, but Atlanta defended home field, bringing the series tied 1-1 headed into tonight. As tonight’s win or go home matchup progressed, it was clear: Inter-Miami was on the wrong side of history.
Inter-Miami took an early 1-0 lead from Matias Rojas (’17), but then Atlanta answered with 2 consecutive goals from Jamal Thiaré (’19, ’21). Miami seemed to have answered the surprise Atlanta scoring run, but the goal from Diego Gomez was overturned due to an “offsides” call.
As the match progressed into the second half, the score seemed gridlocked at 2-1, until Lionel Messi did Lionel Messi things. The Star Striker launched a header with authority into the goal to tie the game (’64).
Unfortunately the celebration was short lived, as a few minutes later Bartosz Slisz punched in the deciding goal (’76) to bring us to the 3-2 final. Despite having over 20 minutes left to play, Miami could not capitalize or gain any traction offensively.
Despite dominating the possession throughout the entirety of the match, Inter-Miami blatantly struggled offensively, failing to come up with anything. Atlanta’s offensive possessions were short lived, but efficient. As the night went on, tensions started to flare and frustrations became vocalized, leading to the tail end becoming extremely chippy.
Atlanta United advances to the second round of the MLS Playoffs, pulling off the most electric and unexpected upset in MLS history.
Inter-Miami’s historic season, while amazing, falls short of expectation. Some may chalk it up as a failure, others will call it a success still, only time will tell.