Recap: Nashville SC's unbeaten run ends in Miami

Nashville SC's 15-match unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday night, falling 2-1 to Inter Miami CF in Ft. Lauderdale. The Coyotes certainly had an off night, but a game of tight margins was unfortunately decided by a disastrous mistake at the back from Joe Willis to gift Lionel Messi an all-too-easy winner.

The XI

With Jonny Pérez suspended, head coach BJ Callaghan opted for a pair of changes on the wings. Ahmed Qasem slotted back into the XI, while Jacob Shaffelburg made his return from international duty and injury on the opposite flank.

On the pitch

Nashville struggled in the first half. Miami did a good job holding onto the ball, and it was a rare occasion where Nashville were the more reactive side. At times, they struggled to string more than a couple passes together. An unfortunate foul from Eddi Tagseth compounded their struggles, giving the Herons a free kick just on the edge of the box. And just as the script writers would have it, Lionel Messi did what Lionel Messi does.

Nashville were on the back foot for the rest of the first half, but held on to get into the break with just a single-goal deficit. As they've done multiple times this season, they came out of the break significantly improved. Hany Mukhtar grabbed his 10th goal of the season just three minutes into the half, getting on the end of an inch-perfect cross from Andy Nájar to pull the visitors level.

After the equalizer, the momentum swung towards Nashville. They controlled possession well and created a couple half-chances, looking more than capable of pulling ahead. Unfortunately, though, a self-inflicted wound proved fatal.

Jeisson Palacios lobbed a difficult pass back to Joe Willis, but the veteran shot stopper brought the ball down well and gave himself more than enough time to play it out of pressure. As he's done consistently in Callaghan's system, though, Willis held onto the ball to try and play it short. Instead of passing it out to the left, he tried to return the ball to Palacios, and passed it directly to Lionel Messi.

It was one of the easiest goals the 2022 World Cup winner has ever scored.

Nashville continued to push after going behind. Gastón Brugman came in and put in a fantastic creative performance, consistently breaking lines and looking for passes into the feet of Mukhtar and Sam Surridge. They came close multiple times, but the final touch too often let them down. It was a rare off night, but even so, they were just marginally off the pace.

Goals

• 17' | MIA | Lionel Messi
• 49' | NSH | Hany Mukhtar
• 63' | MIA | Lionel Messi

The big picture

The unbeaten run was never going to last forever. Losing a tight match on the road in a rather self-inflicted fashion is disappointing, certainly, but it's also not a loss that calls any of their progress into question. Even on a night where they weren't at their best, they more than held their own against an elite side.

I rather clumsily phrased a question in the post-match press conference, asking Dan Lovitz if there was anything to take from the fact that they can "hang with" a team like Miami, even on an off night. In retrospect, it was poorly worded. They're well past the point of being able to hang with anyone, and have earned the right to go into any stadium and feel like they can and should earn three points.

That obviously didn't happen on Saturday. It won't happen every time out. But the last two-and-a-half months have been the most rapid period of growth the club has ever experienced. They're here to stay.

Up next

The Coyotes won't have long to put this behind them. They're back at Geodis Park with a crucial match against Columbus Crew, who just went to Cincinnati and pulled off a 4-2 win. Like Miami, this will be a match with significant implications for the final table.

Stats

Possession: MIA 53% – 47% NSH
Total Passes: MIA 535 – 442 NSH
Shots: MIA 9 – 8 NSH
Shots on goal: MIA 5 – 2 NSH
Penalty kicks: MIA 0 – 0 NSH
Goals: MIA 2 – 1 NSH
Expected goals: MIA 1.39 – 0.70 NSH
Fouls: MIA 11 – 14 NSH
Yellow cards: MIA 2 – 2 NSH
Red cards: MIA 0 – 0 NSH
Announced attendance: 21,108

Highlights