Chester, Pa. – Inter Miami CF earned a come-from-behind 3-3 draw with the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park on Saturday night. Goals from Tadeo Allende and Lionel Messi kept Inter Miami within striking distance, and second-half substitute Telasco Segovia completed the comeback with a dramatic 95th minute equalizer.
“We showed character and personality…[The players] showed that they want to fight to take hold of this situation,” said head coach Javier Mascherano. “[We have] a lot of spirit to come back and be the team that we were at the beginning of the season.”
Inter Miami took the field with Óscar Ustari in goal; Ian Fray, Gonzalo Luján, Tomás Aviles and Noah Allen lined up at the back; Sergio Busquets and Yannick Bright started in midfield with Tadeo Allende and Jordi Alba out wide on the flanks; captain Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez led the team’s attack.
The hosts struck first, opening the scoring in the seventh minute; a corner was taken short to Quinn Sullivan near the corner of the box, who turned and struck a curling shot that found the back of the net.
Philadelphia doubled its lead just before halftime, with Tai Baribo firing from close range to make it 2-0.
Inter Miami hit back in the second half, cutting into the lead in the 60th minute. Patient buildup play became a quick transition into attack when Avilés broke lines with a run on the ball and played a pass wide to Alba, who quickly turned and released Allen down the left wing. The Homegrown defender met the pass and clipped an accurate cross to the run of Allende in front of goal, who rose up and beat the keeper with his header to make it 2-1.
Philadelphia then responded with a third goal and final goal of its own in the 72nd minute; a deflected ball found Baribo at the far post and he finished calmly for his second goal of the night and a 3-1 lead.
A brilliant free kick goal by Messi in the 87th minute made it 3-2, giving the visitors life in the final minutes. The team capitalized on the momentum in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Messi found Segovia at the top of the box and the Venezuelan beat a defender before firing a strike into the top corner of the net. The goal made it 3-3, a scoreline which held through the final moments of the match.
Next, Inter Miami will return home ahead of a two-match week. First, it will host CF Montréal at Chase Stadium on Wednesday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Then, Inter Miami will face the Columbus Crew at Chase Stadium on Saturday May 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
PHI – Quinn Sullivan (Kai Wagner) 7’, Tai Baribo (Mikael Uhre, Indiana Vassilev) 44’, Tai Baribo 73’
MIA – Tadeo Allende (Noah Allen, Jordi Alba) 60’, Lionel Messi 87’, Telasco Segovia 90+5’
Misconduct:
PHI – Indiana Vassilev (Yellow Card 41’), Jesus Bueno (Yellow Card 75’)
MIA – Ian Fray (Yellow Card 42’), Jordi Alba (Yellow Card 76’)
Lineups / Substitutions:
Philadelphia Union – GK Andrew Rick; D Nathan Harriel, Jakob Glesnes ©, Olwethu Makhanya, Kai Wagner; M Quinn Sullivan (Francis Westfield 87’), Danley Jean Jacques, Jovan Lukic, Indiana Vassilev (Bruno Damiani 78’); F Tai Baribo, Mikael Uhre (Jesus Bueno 63’)
Unused Substitutes – GK Oliver Semmle; D Olivier Mbaizo; M Alejandro Bedoya, Jeremy Rafanello, Cavan Sullivan; F Chris Donovan
Inter Miami CF – GK Óscar Ustari; D Ian Fray (Marcelo Weigandt 61’), Gonzalo Luján (Fafa Picault 78’), Tomás Avilés (Telasco Segovia 61’), Noah Allen; M Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright (Federico Redondo 40’); Tadeo Allende, Jordi Alba; F Lionel Messi ©, Luis Suárez
Unused Substitutes – GK Rocco Rios Novo; D Maximiliano Falcón, David Martínez, Marcelo Weigandt; M Benjamin Cremaschi; F Allen Obando
Stats:
Possession:
PHI – 38.4%
MIA – 61.6%
Shots:
PHI – 18
MIA – 11
Saves:
PHI – 1
MIA – 5
Corners:
PHI – 8
MIA – 6
Fouls:
PHI – 11
MIA – 9
Photo/InterMiamiCF
