Analyzing Inter Miami: Outmatched physically, continued low performance levels, and more
Three takeaways from Inter Miami's dreadful 4-0 defeat to the New York Red Bulls
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Phil Neville may have chalked it up mostly to fatigue, but that was not the only reason for this nightmare display.
Inter Miami’s strong run of form crashed into a brick wall that came in the shape of the New York Red Bulls on Friday night, getting trounced, 4-0, at home at Drv Pnk Stadium. The game was as bad and one-sided as the scoreline indicated, and several things factored into that.
Let’s start with one: Inter Miami was physically outmatched.
True to their distinct style, the Red Bulls deployed a young, energetic, and athletic team that brought a lot of intensity from the onset. In contrast, Inter Miami fielded a much more seasoned group that just did not offer that same type of speed and work rate.
Put more plainly, here were the average ages of each starting lineup:
Inter Miami: 27.7
New York Red Bulls: 22.4
The differences in ages and energy translated on the field, especially in a week that saw both teams play three matches in seven days. Whereas the younger Red Bulls buzzed about the field nonstop while executing a suffocating high press without issue, the older, slower, and less-athletic Inter Miami impotently struggled to find a way to get out of its own half for much of the match.
The intensity levels were so stark you could not be blamed for thinking the debuting XBTO sponsor on Inter Miami’s jersey weighed 10 pounds. The Red Bulls regularly won the 50-50 battles and second balls that they salivate over while the South Florida side was constantly pinned back, resulting in an atypical amount of shots against (27) and the types of fouls that led Nicolas Figal to receive two yellow cards inside of the first 38 minutes.
“The New York Red Bulls were the best team,” said Neville. “They totally, totally dominated the game.”
Neville also stated that he thought he probably got the lineup wrong because of the amount of fatigue and lack of freshness that was in his team after such a busy week, and there is certainly a degree of truth to that. Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, for example, looked to have heavy legs.
That said, the Red Bulls also had a grueling stretch to deal with. They played the same amount of games in the same amount of days as Inter Miami. The visitors just dealt with it better due to being physically superior.
Low attacking performance levels finally prove costly
Let’s move onto another reason for this loss: Inter Miami’s ongoing low performance levels in the attack.
Yes, the game might have been decided by the physical aspect of the sport rather than the technical or mental, but Inter Miami’s continued struggles in generating scoring chances also played a part. The Herons finished with just two shots on target, which you could be tempted to chalk up as just a one-off given the lopsided nature of this game but that is actually an extension of how poor the attack has been.
The last five games have seen Inter Miami go 3-1-1 from a results standpoint, but the team has only generated a combined nine shots on target in those tilts. That averages out to 1.8 per match, an alarmingly low number that has mostly been masked by the largely stupendous defensive displays.
If Inter Miami is indeed going to make this loss a blip on the radar and move forward with a playoff push, Neville’s side has to improve on that attacking statistic. Creating so few quality chances each game puts en even bigger premium on finishing the ones that do come, and that just is not a sustainable formula for success when you only have one lethal scorer on your team.
Speaking of which, finding a way to get star striker Gonzalo Higuain and midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro on the same page would certainly help. The two Designated Players who were substituted at the same time on Friday have only directly combined for one goal this season, and have never really looked to be on the same page on or off the field. Questions about their chemistry, relationship, and fit together should abound.
Regardless, how the entire team plays in the attack from here until the end of the year will likely determine whether the playoffs are reached or not. Inter Miami is in need of points for the postseason push, and you have to be able to score to get them.
Avoidable yellow cards have big implications
Adding insult to injury in this one is that both Figal and Gonzalez Pirez picked up needless yellow cards that not only had implications for this game, but ones beyond.
Figal’s second booking in the 38th minute might have been a soft call after a collision away from the ball, but it was all the same unnecessary from him after having already been cautioned. Gonzalez Pirez, meanwhile, went into the referee’s book earlier in the first half for frustratingly shouting at fallen foe Patryk Klimala during the run of play.
Rushes of blood to the head happen in the heat of battle, but both Figal and Gonzalez Pirez’s pointless actions will force them to miss time. Figal was already set to serve a one-game ban due to yellow card accumulation after his first booking on Friday, but will now sit out two matches due to his ensuing ejection. Gonzalez Pirez is suspended just one affair due to accumulation after picking up his league-high 11th yellow of the year.
Losing two starters on its own is costly enough, but it will hurt Inter Miami even more so because the Herons do not have any other natural centerbacks available on the roster. Ryan Shawcross and Ventura Alvarado both remain out for the “foreseeable future” with injuries, and that means Neville will be extremely short-handed and in need of getting creative to find a solution in next Wednesday’s home game against Nashville SC.
“We are going to have to make sure that we have players that are ready to do a job that they probably have never done before or maybe will never do again,” said Neville. “That is something we will deal with.”
One of the better and certainly one of the more incisive articles on this result. Neville noted this was “a reality check” and the reality is that this is a very very poor team.