SANDY, UTAH – APRIL 22: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF dribbles the ball against Noel Caliskan #92 of Real Salt Lake during the MLS match between Real Salt Lake and Inter Miami CF at America First Field on April 22, 2026 in Sandy, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
Chris Gardner
Getty Images
Ticket prices spiked to record highs for Inter Miami’s road game Wednesday against Real Salt Lake, just a few days after a crowd of 75,824, the second largest in MLS history, saw Lionel Messi score twice in a win over the Colorado Rapids at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.
Fans out west don’t get many opportunities to see their teams play against the Argentine legend, so they packed the two stadiums and were willing to pay top dollar.
Wednesday’s game at 21,000-seat America First Field was the most expensive MLS game of the season, according to TickPick, with an average purchase price of $468.
The fans got quite a show with end-to-end action.
Inter Miami, playing its second game under new interim coach Guillermo Hoyos, was eager to build on its win in Colorado after pair of ties at their brand new Nu Stadium. Colorado, coached by former Miami Fusion and U.S. star Pablo Mastroeni, is off to its best start in 22 years and the fan base was energized.
Miami started the night disjointed and nearly gave up two quick goals. Sergi Solans’ header from close range missed just left. A few minutes later, Morgan Guilavogui appeared to score, but his goal was disallowed when Solans was called for offside.
The men in pink settled down and created plenty of scoring chances. Messi had three shots blocked. De Paul had one blocked. A German Berterame header sailed high and a Gonzalo Lujan shot from the center of the box was blocked just before intermission.
Salt Lake fans booed Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair every time he touched the ball, leftover bad blood from his alleged antics during a penalty kick shootout during the 2024 playoffs against his former team Minnesota United.
The score remained deadlocked at 0-0 at halftime. Possession was about even at 50 percent. Miami had 10 shot attempts compared to two for Salt Lake, but could not manage to find the back of the net.
Inter Miami midfielder Yannick Bright missed the game while serving a red card suspension and Mateo Silvetti sat out with a hamstring injury.
They were replaced by Noah Allen and Tadeo Allende. The rest of Miami’s starters were goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, defender Gonzalo Lujan, center back Maxi Falcon, right back Facundo Mura, center back Micael, midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, midfielder Telasco Segovia, captain Messi and striker German Berterame.
Ian Fray replaced Allen at the 72-minute mark and Luis Suarez entered the game in the 75th minute in place of Allende. Segovia was issued a yellow card in the second half and he will miss the New England game Saturday due to card accumulation.
Entering Wednesday’s game, Inter Miami was unbeaten in seven games and sat in second place in the Eastern Conference with 15 points off four wins, three ties and a loss to LAFC in the season opener. The team was highly motivated to pick up a second road win from this trip before heading home to Nu Stadium for Saturday’s game against the New England Revolution.
Inter Miami’s defense has been vulnerable all season and conceded two goals in each of its past four games. It managed to keep Salt Lake at bay for the first half.
Mastroeni’s team had gone six games unbeaten since losing its season opener to the Vancouver Whitecaps, including a 4-2 win last Saturday against San Diego. Salt Lake scored two goals in the first six minutes and four in the first half.
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 10:56 PM.
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Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.