New York Red Bulls sink Inter Miami 2-0 as Casemiro own goal ends Herons' winning run
Red Bulls dominate from the first whistle
Inter Miami's three-game winning run in MLS came to an abrupt end with a listless display against the New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium. An early Casemiro own goal and a stoppage-time finish from Emil Forsberg handed the hosts a comfortable 2-0 victory, but the scoreline actually flattered a Miami side that was second-best from minute one to 90.
Casemiro's costly slip
Julian Hall should have opened the scoring with the first shot of the game, turning Cade Cowell's cut-back past the left post, but it mattered little as another low cross from Cowell in the seventh minute was turned into his own net by Casemiro. The Brazilian, who had shifted into a centre-back role earlier this month to general acclaim from head coach Cristian "Kily" Gonzalez, was caught out as the Red Bulls took a deserved early lead.
Hall missed another great opportunity in the 18th minute as he headed over from inside the six-yard box despite having an unguarded goal in front of him, while Jorge Ruvalcaba missed a carbon copy of Hall's first chance on the stroke of half-time.
Messi cannot spark the fightback
Lionel Messi was introduced off the bench after a quiet start to the second half, but NYRB's dominance — and their wastefulness — continued. Ruvalcaba was twice denied while one-on-one with Dayne St. Clair. Miami's best chances came in the 84th minute, but Santiago Morales was kept out by Ethan Horvath after an inch-perfect pass from Messi, while Telasco Segovia's rebound cannoned back off the crossbar.
Forsberg wraps it up
An experienced presence in Forsberg then wrapped things up in the 91st minute, scoring a simple tap-in after Cameron Harper intercepted a poor pass from St. Clair and squared it to the Swedish midfielder. The goal confirmed a miserable night for the Herons and their travelling supporters.
By the numbers
Despite eventually scoring a second, New York's margin could have been far wider. NYRB accumulated 3.31 expected goals (xG) from 19 shots, five of which were Opta-defined big chances, while restricting Miami to just 0.81 from their 12 attempts.
Both Hall and Ruvalcaba will be wondering how they did not get on the scoresheet, with the pair responsible for 1.92 of the Red Bulls' xG and four of their five big chances. Ruvalcaba led NYRB in xG (1.34), shots (six), touches in the box (seven) and big chances (three), and Michael Bradley will acknowledge his side could have been punished on another day by the likes of Messi and Luis Suarez.
However, on this occasion, Suarez registered two shots worth just 0.09 xG, while Messi recorded one shot and created two chances off the bench. Miami now turn their attention to a home clash with FC Cincinnati on Wednesday, looking to bounce back from a performance that offered few positives.