The Herons Escape From The Lions

_{LAST MATCH: Miami 1 - Orlando 1}

_{NEXT MATCH: vs. Houston Dynamo, Wednesday, September 27th, 8:30 PM EST}

_{WHERE TO WATCH: CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, Peacock, UNIVERSO, Telemundo}

Good morning! Inter Miami escaped the Lion’s Den and kept their playoff hopes alive with a 1-1 draw vs. Orlando City.

With just two days until the US Open Cup final against the Houston Dynamo, the Herons will have an incredibly short turnaround as they look to win their second title in club history.

Updated standings:

In the email today:

No Messi, no Alba and no Busquets.

Inter Miami traveled to central Florida extremely short-handed. But, with a starting eleven that included four homegrown players, the Herons managed to scrape by and earn a point against a defensively well-drilled and offensively potent Orlando City side.

The match started off at a slow tempo, with Miami unable to get the ball out of their own half. Orlando did well to disrupt the Heron’s rhythm and made it difficult for them to build out of the back.

However, after some wonderful interplay between Leo Campana and Josef Martinez, Miami would get their chance in the 52nd minute through David Ruiz.

Unfortunately, the Herons would relinquish that lead 14 minutes later with a Duncan McGuire strike, drawing the game in the end.

After the match, head coach Tata Martino spoke about the draw, but - most importantly - gave the media an update on several injured players and their health status ahead of Wednesday’s final.

On Messi: “Very difficult to assign any percentage, we’ll go day by day. We’ll evaluate [Messi] later, and I’ll listen to what he tells me and how he feels. It’s not an easy decision.”

On Busquets: Martino says he suffers from migraines that cloud his vision. Should be okay for the final.

On Kryvtsov: Also suffered a migraine and should be good to go on Wednesday.

• Despite the short rest and rotated squad, Miami played okay and fought hard to earn a point on the road.

• The team now shifts focus to their Open Cup match-up on Wednesday.

• Messi is still day-to-day, with the team hoping he’ll be fit by Wednesday.

Our take: It wasn’t pretty, but Miami needs every point they can get if they want to make the playoffs. With just five regular season matches to go, the Herons are in the driver’s seat when it comes to clinching a spot in the postseason.

2) 📈 Player Grades From Yesterday’s Draw

• 🧤 Drake Callender - 7: Came up huge a couple of times throughout the match, unfortunate to not keep a clean sheet.

• 🚀 Robert Taylor - 7: Not his best match, but then again, he was playing out of position.

• 💨 Noah Allen - 8.5: Had a Man of The Match caliber performance. A phenomenal display by the young left-back on both the attacking and defending sides.

• 🦌 Tomas Aviles - 6: Was a little too aggressive, which saw him earn an early yellow. Had a couple of good tackles, but often missed the majority of them, which left Miami’s back line exposed.

• 💪 Serhiy Kryvtsov - 6.5: Not the greatest game from the Ukraine international, who had to exit early due to a migraine.

• 🇺🇸 DeAndre Yedlin - 7.7: A great game by the veteran full-back. Was defensively solid, and adventurous in attack.

• 👶 Benjamin Cremaschi - 6: A subpar night for the 18-year-old, looked fatigued and a little sluggish - especially towards the end.

• 🇪🇨 Dixon Arroyo - 6.5: Looked a step too slow in midfield. Had a couple of nice passes though.

• 🇭🇳 David Ruiz - 9: Was a tad bit wild at times when it came to tackling, but, the youngster scored the only goal of the match for Miami

• 🧔‍♂️ Leo Campana - 8: Looked lively and led the Heron’s front line well.

• 😡 Josef Martinez - 7.1: The game didn’t suit his playing style, however, the 30-year-old had a part to play in Miami’s only goal of the night.

Subs:

• 🏋️ Kamal Miller - 7.5: Came on in the second half and defended well. Didn’t make any mistakes.

• 🌟 Facundo Farias - 7: Not his best cameo off the bench. Lost possession of the ball in dangerous areas and could’ve dictated more in the final third.

• 🐉 Robbie Robinson - 6: Had a couple of good looks in the final third, but didn’t do enough to push Miami over the edge.

• 🇲🇽 Victor Ulloa - N/A: Didn’t feature long enough for a grade.

• 🏞️ Ryan Sailor - 7: Was strong in the air and was a solid replacement for Toto Aviles.

3) ⚽ Newcastle United Put Eight Past Sheffield United

In some non-MLS/Inter Miami news….

4) 📊 Poll: Taming The Lions

Have additional thoughts? Reply directly to this email to comment, and see if we include your response tomorrow.

Results from our last poll: Were Messi and Alba Rushed Back Too Quickly?

87% of you said no, they weren’t.

5) 🔗 Link Roundup:

• 🐬 In NFL news, the Miami Dolphins absolutely trounced the Denver Broncos, 70-20

• 🐐 Messi’s full interview with Miguel Granados has been uploaded with English subtitles.

• ❤️ We’re in the strangest timeline: Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were spotted leaving together, after the Chief’s 41-10 win over the Chicago Bears.

The newsletter today was written by: Alex Windley @aaw_1998

Thanks for reading! Catch you on the flip side!