Inter Miami Overcomes Toronto FC with 4-2 Victory
Rodrigo De Paul, Luis Suarez, Sergio Reguilon, and Lionel Messi each contributed goals to secure a 4-2 victory for visiting Inter Miami against Toronto FC on Saturday. With this win, Miami improved its record to 6-2-4, amassing a total of 22 points. This performance was a bounce-back from last week’s surprising 4-3 home loss to Orlando City, where the team squandered a 3-0 lead.
Emilio Aristizabal netted a brace for Toronto (3-4-5, 14 points). Miami opened the scoring in the 44th minute as De Paul’s free kick from 25 yards deflected off the wall, with his subsequent right-footed shot hitting the post and finding the net.
Suarez doubled Miami’s lead in the 56th minute, finishing a pass from Messi with his left foot. The score marked a moment when Miami took advantage of the space left by an injured Toronto forward Raheem Edwards.
Midway through the second half, in the 73rd minute, Reguilon scored his first MLS goal, making it 3-0 after receiving a pass back from Messi. Just two minutes later, De Paul set up Messi in the box, extending Miami’s lead to 4-0.
Toronto managed to reduce the deficit in the 82nd minute when Aristizabal scored, followed by another goal from him in the 90th minute, bringing the final score to 4-2 after a header assisted by Kobe Franklin.
Toronto started strong, with Alonso Coello’s free kick in the 8th minute nearly finding its mark, but Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair made the save. Toronto continued to press, with several players, including Malik Henry, Markus Cimermancic, and Deandre Kerr, taking shots that veered wide of the target.
As the first half progressed, Miami’s offense began to generate momentum. A Messi attempt in the 38th minute just grazed the near post, while St. Clair executed a crucial diving punch save against a shot from Daniel Salloi to maintain the 1-0 advantage at halftime.
The second half saw Luis Suarez create a turnover in the 47th minute, setting Messi up for a promising 2-on-1 run. However, Suarez’s shot from inside the box failed to find the target.