Inter Miami Player Ratings: Gonzalez Pirez, Morgan among few bright spots vs. NYCFC
Gonzalez Pirez and Morgan were Inter Miami's best in 2-0 defeat to NYCFC
Inter Miami had an opportunity to make up ground in its pursuit of a playoff spot, but the team was unable to capitalize on it.
After a four-game surge that injected life into the season, Inter Miami saw its franchise-record unbeaten run snapped on Saturday with a 2-0 road loss to New York City FC. The final scoreline could have been viewed as a bit flattering to the South Florida side, which got too few good performances from its players.
Leandro Gonzalez Pirez and Lewis Morgan were the biggest bright spots for Inter Miami, but there were not many other standouts as the likes of Kelvin Leerdam, Gonzalo Higuain, and Rodolfo Pizarro struggled to make a positive impact.
Here are the Inter Miami Player Ratings following the Saturday defeat:
Nick Marsman (6) — Displayed his good range of passing again and held his ground well on the 1-on-1 look in the first half, but unable to come up with any big saves.
Lewis Morgan (7.5) — The most dangerous player in the attack, showing a willingness to shoot while also putting in a lot of work defensively.
Kelvin Leerdam (3) — Lost his mark on the first goal and inexplicably handled the ball to give up the penalty that resulted in the second in his worst outing for the team to date.
Nicolas Figal (4.5) — A very mixed showing that saw him start strong before struggling, including on an errant pass that nearly led to a goal and the throw-in that resulted in the penalty.
Leandro Gonzalez Pirez (8.5) — Tremendous defensively while also hitting some precise long balls that proved the team’s biggest attacking threat on the night.
Kieran Gibbs (5.5) — Could have pressed the cross that led to the first goal better, but was precise with his passing and respectable defensively without providing much to the attack.
Gregore (5.5) — Made his presence felt with his physicality and fearlessness but had some issues when trying to move the ball forward.
Victor Ulloa (4.5) — Unable to provide much bite defensively and saw very little of the ball, though he hit one nice pass to Morgan to set up a chance.
Blaise Matuidi (5) — Started decently on both sides of the ball, but his impact diminished after the half-hour mark as he got stuck mostly chasing NYCFC attackers.
Gonzalo Higuain (4.5) — Showed his quality when he had the ball, which was not often enough as he was largely starved of service. His missed chance was called back for offside.
Rodolfo Pizarro (3.5) — Inaccurate with his passing, ineffective in the attack, and invisible in a game plan that did not suit him.
Indiana Vassilev (4.5) — Did more chasing than attacking in his cameo, though some of his touches were also off.
Federico Higuain (4) — Poor with his passing on the few touches he had after coming off the bench.
Christian Makoun (6) — Only substitute to show well, getting involved defensively and in the build-up.
Julian Carranza (4.5) — Like Gonzalo Higuain before him, saw very little of the ball during his 18-minute cameo.
Jay Chapman (N/A) — Limited touches in his late appearance.
Phil Neville (4.5) — His game plan worked initially, but he did not react quick enough with adjustments once the team started losing control of the game. The decision to go with Leerdam over Makoun in the starting back line proved costly, too.
They should have kept the formation used against Nashville, and keep improving from there. I really love what I saw from Makoun Figal and LGP on the right side of the centerbacks in that game