Columbus Crew fall 2-1, fail to capitalize vs Inter Miami team without Messi: Takeaways
The advantages were stacked in the Crew's favor despite being on the road to face an Inter Miami team that sits atop of the Eastern Conference on Wednesday.
Miami went into the match without star forward Lionel Messi and striker Luis Suarez, who were representing their home countries in the Copa America tournament, and the Crew were riding a four-game MLS road winning streak.
But that streak was snapped with a 2-1 loss to Miami.
It took little time for Miami to take the upper hand, taking a 1-0 lead by the 10-minute mark with a goal from defender Ian Fray, a player in his first game since tearing an ACL in July. Eleven minutes later, Miami's Leo Campana scored a put-back goal after two saves from Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte on Campana's back-to-back attempts.
"The first (goal) was a corner, and the guy had a free header," said Crew coach Wilfried Nancy. "The second goal, we overplayed. We had a lack of humility. This is something I don't like. ... When the game demands to play, no problem, but I don't like when we overplay."
Crew striker Cucho Hernandez scored in the 40th minute off a long pass from midfielder Aidan Morris, but that was all the scoring.
Replay: Columbus Crew unable to overcome weakened Inter Miami lineup, fall 2-1
The Crew played six consecutive road matches, with the only other loss being against CF Pachuca in the Champions Cup final.
"We have grown a lot regarding these kind of (road) games," Nancy said. "(Against Miami) I would have preferred to concede in another way. This is a positive, what we've done the few last games that we've had. It could have been better in terms of the way we did this game."
Columbus Crew have unusually quiet second half vs Inter Miami
Following the Crew's 3-2 victory over New York City FC on Friday, Nancy noted the team's ability to score in the second half of matches, when they've scored 15 of their 24 MLS goals this season.
Miami's back line was strong in the opening minutes of the second half, and the Crew's first two shot attempts were blocked.
"We came out well in the second half," Nancy said. "We had all the time with the ball. We tried to unbalance the low block. After that, we had opportunities. We didn't score."
Nancy made a lineup change less than 20 minutes after halftime, swapping forward Christian Ramirez for Alex Matan, and Ramirez would be the first to take a shot on goal in the half two minutes after entering. It was one of five Crew shots on goal in the half.
Crew captain Darlington Nagbe said that Columbus needed to be "sharper" but also gave credit to Miami's back line, which was missing Tomas Aviles, who was suspended due to a red card.
"Defensively, I thought they were good," Nagbe said. "They stayed low in a good block, and they were sharp blocking us. We weren't sharp enough in the attack."
Former Columbus Crew MLS Cup champion Julian Gressel plays key role
Julian Gressel spent less than a season with the Crew in 2023. The midfielder was acquired in July, and by the end of the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs in November had lost his starting position to Mo Farsi.
Opting for free agency in the offseason, Gressel signed with Miami, where he's been able to bounce back from a less-than-ideal ending with Columbus. Across 20 appearances in 2024, Gressel has recorded one goal and eight assists, his latest coming against the Crew.
Gressel executed the corner kick in the 10th minute that allowed Fray to score.
"Julian (Gressel) is a good player, a winner," Nagbe said. "He's always on the ball, and you always know he's going to provide his quality in those final balls. I'm not surprised at what he's been doing here."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew unable to beat Inter Miami with Lionel Messi: Takeaways
