Inter Miami Player Ratings: 3-1 Win vs. LAFC
Lionel Messi returned to his influential ways, Drake Callender continued to excel, and several others impressed as the Herons delivered a statement victory
The Hollywood stars turned up in numbers in Los Angeles on Sunday night, and they were treated to the latest Lionel Messi and Inter Miami show.
Inter Miami returned to winning ways this past weekend, posting a 3-1 road victory over LAFC that kept the South Florida side unbeaten in its last 11 matches across all competitions. There was no shortage of impressive performances for the South Florida side in the statement win, which saw Inter Miami weather an initial storm before putting forth a solid collective display that left the hosts struggling for answers.
Messi unsurprisingly helped lead the way with a pair of pinpoint assists, but others like Drake Callender, Sergii Kryvtsov, Sergio Busquets, Kamal Miller, and Diego Gomez had good shifts of their own to help La Rosanegra trim the deficit in Mission: Push for the Playoffs.
INTER MIAMI PLAYER RATINGS
Drake Callender (8) — A game-changer again, making his latest stunning save on a 1-on-1 chance minutes in to keep things level while making four other stops the rest of the way.
DeAndre Yedlin (6) — Serviceable on both sides of the ball, as he had his share of defensive interventions in addition to getting forward without threatening much.
Tomas Aviles (4.5) — His line-splitting assist on the opener was exquisite, but he was significantly troubled by Denis Bouanga and fortunate that the LAFC attacker was haunted by some horrific finishing in this one.
Sergii Kryvtsov (8.5) — Timely with his tackles and excellent with his reading of the game, providing some very sturdy play as the sweeper in the back five.
Kamal Miller (7.5) — Another solid shift in which he helped keep Carlos Vela largely at bay from the run of play while also coming up with some key deflections.
Jordi Alba (7.5) — Scored the composed winner after making a great run into space, and chipped in on both sides of the ball throughout the match.
Benjamin Cremaschi (5.5) — Not the sharpest outing on the ball in his return to the lineup, but he did enough defensively with his work rate to help blanket the back line.
Sergio Busquets (8) — Turned in another strong performance in which he kept the ball moving quickly and precisely en route to ending up with the most touches of any player on the field.
Diego Gomez (7.5) — Sharper and more confident, he hit some good balls forward and would have had an assist to Messi if not for a jaw-dropping John McCarthy save.
Lionel Messi (7.5) — Set up the team’s last two goals with perfectly-weighted passes and had some of his usual moments on the dribble, though he should have finished better on that aforementioned clear opportunity in the first half.
Facundo Farias (6.5) — Took his sliding early goal well, and brought another element to the front line with a directness and speed that stretched the opposing defense.
Dixon Arroyo (4.5) — The substitute lost his individual battle with Ryan Hollingshead on the set piece that gave LAFC a late lifeline, but was otherwise okay.
Leonardo Campana (6.5) — Made an impact as a sub with the clinical finish that made it 3-0 despite not touching the ball much before or after that.
Noah Allen (N/A) — Helped close things out with his latest brief cameo off the bench.
Victor Ulloa (N/A) — Entered in the dying minutes to become the only Inter Miami player to play away vs. LAFC both in this one and in the franchise’s first game in 2020.
Gerardo Martino (5.5) — Fortunate that Inter Miami did not concede on the number of looks given up in the opening 20 minutes, but deserves credit for sticking with a game plan that stymied the talented opposition for much of the last hour and change.