Try as they might, Inter Miami just can’t seem to encounter a straightforward, uneventful match.
Three days after breathless, last-gasp heroics were required to edge Atlas 2-1 in their Leagues Cup 2025 opener, the Herons found themselves in the eye of a storm again on Saturday night as Necaxa visited Chase Stadium.
The evening turned on a dime repeatedly, starting with seven dramatic minutes in the first half. First Lionel Messi exited with an early injury, inevitably destabilizing his side. Then Telasco Segovia netted a fine opener for the hosts one minute later, before a contentious straight red card to defender Maxi Falcón reduced Miami to 10 men with more than 70 minutes left to play.
“Practically the whole match was an uphill struggle,” left back Jordi Alba lamented to Apple TV in Spanish postgame.
South Florida thriller
That was only the start of the chaos.
Necaxa drew level via a well-worked move finished by Tomás Badaloni, only to find themselves shorthanded on the hour mark, too, thanks to two yellow cards to Cristian Calderón, before Ricardo Monreal snatched a late goal that looked to have won it for Los Rayos – which would’ve dealt a brutal blow to IMCF’s hopes of advancement to the tournament’s knockout stages.
Yet the 2023 Leagues Cup winners dug deep, even as they found themselves increasingly shorthanded. Alba, who at 5-foot-7 is not known as an aerial threat, leaped to flick a set-piece delivery from the excellent Rodrigo De Paul past Rayos goalkeeper Ezequiel Unsain for a shock equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time.
“It’s just wild sometimes in soccer – 10 vs. 10, so many open spaces, people were tired, so it gets a little messy,” said head coach Javier Mascherano in Spanish afterwards. “It’s hard to control, and this is where I particularly value that drive and the hunger, and the fact that I have a team of winners. Because even though the match was complicated and everything seemed a little messy, they never gave up.”
That set the stage for Rocco Ríos Novo – the ‘keeper thrust into the lineup by a recent injury to Oscar Ustari – to make the difference in the penalty shootout, saving Badaloni’s spot kick while the Herons went a perfect five-for-five from the mark to deliver two points that could prove massive in the race for the quarterfinals.
“At times, the team was behind on the scoreboard, but the team looked good – it’s looked good before in the face of adversity – and that’s how things turn out the way they do,” said Ríos Novo in the postgame mixed zone. “It’s about staying in the games, staying focused 100%, giving it everything on the field, and then I believe things will work out, no?”
Fighting spirit
The emotional impact – “a huge sadness for the whole team,” in Alba’s words – of Messi’s untimely departure, due to what appeared to be a soft-tissue issue in his right thigh, was palpable, casting a pall over the entire stadium. And referee Daniel Quintero’s decision to brandish a straight red to Falcón for what he judged the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity on striker Díber Cambindo provided another hardship on a humid Fort Lauderdale evening where cooling breaks were necessary.
While he was quite infuriated by the sending-off, speaking of the “pretty bitter feeling” he carries away from the occasion, Mascherano’s message to his troops was clear: No excuses.
“It seemed like both [teams] knew that a tie was not good enough for anyone, and we were suffering, clearly, because we had played for 40-something minutes with one man less, and that’s something that you can feel,” said the first-year Argentine boss.
“But the team kept growing all the way until the end. Perhaps there were not many ideas, but there was a lot of heart in our game, and that’s what I decide to keep: a team that was having a hard time, but still fighting.”
One step closer ‼️ See you next Wednesday 🏟️
Secure your tickets here: https://t.co/z7ncEYWRdL pic.twitter.com/5Xf7mFlm0I
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) August 3, 2025
Pressure on vs. Pumas
So even with their noses bloodied, Miami still control their destiny. They have four days to rest and recover – and presumably learn how long their iconic talisman will be sidelined – before Wednesday’s Phase One finale vs. Pumas UNAM (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+), where a positive result will likely be required if they are to book passage to the final eight.
With Messi’s status in doubt, the leadership and quality of Alba, De Paul and the remaining members of IMCF’s star brigade will be essential.
“It feels like he has been playing here forever, and it’s been only five days,” said Mascherano of De Paul, who assisted on both of the Herons’ goals against Necaxa. “He has played two games and trained just a couple of trainings, and there are not many players who have a mindset like his. Clearly, by the end today, it was visible, he was tired, but he continued trying nonetheless.
“He gives us so much and so many opportunities, and his skills are almost infectious. In just two games, he has proven to be very valuable, and in the future, it’s going to be even more so.”
