{"id":257580,"date":"2026-05-04T11:28:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T11:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/257580\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T11:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T11:28:18","slug":"inter-miami-are-dropping-points-and-their-stars-are-in-hiding-mls-weekend-wrap-mls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/257580\/","title":{"rendered":"Inter Miami are dropping points, and their stars are in hiding: MLS weekend wrap | MLS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another Inter Miami<\/a> match, another hat-trick by an Argentinian No 10. Just not the one you expected.<\/p>\n

Mart\u00edn Ojeda put on a masterclass on Sunday and led Orlando City<\/a> to a shocking 4-3 defeat of Miami that saw the Lions become just the third team in MLS\u2019s 30-year history to win after trailing 3-0. As Ojeda raised his arms in triumph at the final whistle, Lionel Messi \u2013 who scored a wonder goal of his own and added two assists \u2013 headed straight for the locker room.<\/p>\n

Miami are winless in four games since christening Nu Stadium in April, but Saturday\u2019s loss carried extra weight, coming at the hands of their in-state rivals and one of one of MLS\u2019s poorest sides. And while there\u2019s plenty of blame to spread around in Miami\u2019s camp, defenders Maxi Falc\u00f3n and Micael put in atrocious performances against Orlando. Miami actually continued to threaten offensively until the final whistle but their defensive ineptitude comes as no surprise to anyone who has watched them in 2026, or last year for that matter.<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s attempts at bolstering an already iffy backline \u2013 one that has suffered greatly from the loss of Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets this offseason \u2013 involved bringing in defending MLS goalkeeper of the year Dayne St Clair, along with defenders Micael and Sergio Reguil\u00f3n. The adds clearly haven\u2019t worked; Miami have given up twice as many goals at this point in the season as they had in 2025. They continue to struggle in defensive transition. And with a midfield laboring despite the presence of Rodrigo De Paul, giveaways are as common as they are dangerous. Only an in-form Messi and a handful of other standouts have kept Miami \u2013 who are third in the Eastern Conference \u2013 in decent shape.<\/p>\n

Who, then, will face the music? Inter Miami are already on their second manager of the season, after Javier Mascherano\u2019s surprise resignation along with most of his coaching staff. Guillermo Hoyos, Messi\u2019s \u201cfootball father\u201d and formerly Miami\u2019s sporting director, is now head coach but took only one question from the media on Saturday, delivering a single, terse answer before leaving the room.<\/p>\n

As for players, neither Falc\u00f3n nor Micael \u2013 nor any one of Miami\u2019s galaxy of stars \u2013 had to answer for their performance to the media. This is run-of-the-mill stuff at Miami, who have shirked the league\u2019s media and open locker room policies for years. More recently they appear to have taken that approach to new heights, refusing match credentials to some longtime local media since moving to Nu Stadium.<\/p>\n

Left to carry the load, then, was Miami defender Noah Allen. Allen, along with fellow fullback Ian Fray, were at least serviceable on Saturday, with Fray scoring Miami\u2019s opener. Allen, who is often left to address the media on behalf of his teammates, was asked on Saturday whether it\u2019s been tough to fill that role every week in place of more senior players. In a world where players are more often than not polished and professional to the point of tedium, Allen\u2019s answer was open and honest.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have to see if Miami keep marching him up there.<\/p>\n

Frustration boils overCavan Sullivan had some choice words after being subbed out on Saturday. Photograph: Icon Sportswire\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Union\u2019s 0-0 draw against Nashville SC would have been forgettable, but for one notable moment.<\/p>\n

About 68 minutes in \u2013 and with the Union stretched defensively \u2013 head coach Bradley Carnell pulled 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan. Sullivan, who was starting just his third league match of the year, was unhappy. We know this because one could read Sullivan\u2019s lips as he jogged off the field: \u201cFucking bullshit, motherfucker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from the Union\u2019s run in the Concacaf Champions Cup, Sullivan has largely been left out of Carnell\u2019s plans, at least as a starter. It\u2019s been a head-scratching decision at times, with the Union circling the drain in the Eastern Conference, in need of some creativity up top that Sullivan could provide. It\u2019s led some to question whether Sullivan\u2019s growth is being stunted by the Union ahead of a potentially life-altering transfer \u2013 he has a clause in his contract that will see him move to Manchester City when he turns 18, or potentially earlier to one of their sister clubs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also fair to ask what anybody is supposed to expect from Sullivan, who was even younger than MLS\u2019s other notable phenom, Freddy Adu, when he made his first team debut in 2024.<\/p>\n

Carnell praised Sullivan\u2019s performance after the match and pinned the substitution on a tactical shift.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, the front four, they invest so much for us and there were a couple of plays at the end there where [Nashville] brings on [Andy] Najar, especially down that side,\u201d Carnell said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we had to get [Agust\u00edn Anello] on just from a physicality point of view, just to do the recoveries as well. So, you know, definitely not performance related because he did really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carnell\u2019s remarks aside, outbursts like Sullivan\u2019s are never helpful and may run counter to the general assessment of Sullivan, or at least the one that existed when the Union announced he\u2019d be headed to Manchester City in the first place. Back then, decision-makers at the Union spoke of his maturity and professionalism. Saturday\u2019s outburst doesn\u2019t mean that assessment is wrong, though \u2013 rather, we just saw a different side of Sullivan, though many in attendance probably understood his frustration.<\/p>\n

San Diego standoff goes aerial<\/p>\n

The borderline telenovela between San Diego FC and Chucky Lozano has reached brand new heights. Altitudes, even.<\/p>\n

Lozano has been excluded from San Diego\u2019s plans this year and has been training away from the team, having recently posted something akin to an \u201ceverybody hurts\u201d video of himself wandering around San Diego\u2019s training facility alone. The club\u2019s head coach, Mikey Varas, gave an almost hilariously curt answer last week when asked if Lozano \u2013 who is making $7.4m a year \u2013 coulc return to the team, offering the following: \u201cNo chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet San Diego\u2019s pitiful start to the season has fans clamoring for his return, with some supporters chanting Lozano\u2019s name during matches. Just before Saturday\u2019s match against LAFC, a plane appeared overhead towing a banner with a message for Varas, or anybody who would listen: \u201cFREE CHUCKY = MORE WINS.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Diego actually looked decent against Los Angeles and very nearly won, undone deep into second-half stoppage time by a controversial Ryan Hollingshead strike.<\/p>\n

Something tells me we won\u2019t be seeing Lozano anytime soon, airborne pleas be damned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Another Inter Miami match, another hat-trick by an Argentinian No 10. Just not the one you expected. Mart\u00edn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-257580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}