Inter Miami’s Struggle Without Lionel Messi As New York Red Bulls Thrashes Miami 4-0

After a horrific 4-0 beating by the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino criticized the mindset of his star-studded team.

Even though Martino took some of the blame for the mauling, the seasoned coach still attributed responsibility to his players, who included notable additions Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba.

After the crushing defeat, Martino commented, “There is not much to say, except that we were outmatched from start to finish.” “We didn’t want to compete; the Red Bulls wanted to win.

“When a team enters a game without the desire to win, without spirit, without competing, and the other side just want to win the game, they are going to win it.”

While the club had triumphed 3-1 at D.C. United the previous week without the Argentina star, Martino declined to attribute the defeat on Messi’s absence.

“The absence of the best player in the world is important for everyone — but last week with D.C. Leo didn’t play either,” Martino stated.
Morgan, a former Miami player, had earlier exhausted Martino’s team with an outstanding man-of-the-match display.

After playing for Celtic, St. Mirren, and Sunderland before joining Major League Soccer four years ago, Scotland international Morgan gave New York the lead after just three minutes.

A lackluster Miami, on the other hand, barely mustered a chance in the first forty-five minutes, their most dangerous opportunity coming from a looping Suarez shot that went wide after 27 minutes.

Six minutes into the second half, Morgan extended New York’s lead, capitalizing on a deft pass from Dante Vanzeir to make it 2-0.
On minute 66, the Scottish attacker played a key role in setting up New York’s third goal when he hustled incredibly hard to keep the ball in play outside on the left before cutting into the box.

Venezuelan forward Wikelman Carmona tucked in the finish with assistance from Vanzeir.

After further excellent work from Vanzeir, Morgan completed his hat-trick four minutes later to conclude a comprehensive counterattack by New York.

Once again, Vanzeir was involved, deflecting a weak challenge from Noah Allen down the right side before rolling a low cross into Morgan’s path, where he made no mistake.
After the victories, New York was tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with Miami and the Columbus Crew with 10 points. Miami is in second position while Columbus is leading on goal differential.

In other early-morning Major League Soccer matches on Saturday, New England Revolution defeated Chicago Fire 1–1 to earn their first point of the year.

The Revs, down after 20 minutes due to a goal from Hugo Cuypers, tied the score with a goal from Nacho Gil in first-half stoppage time.