The first half hour started tense before Inter Miami gradually took control. But despite searching for their talisman, the Messi-led attack was never able to break through, and the harder they pushed, the more exposed they became.
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And in the 37th minute, after losing the ball in their own half, LAFC made themselves pay. Breaking quickly, Son Heung-min split the defense with a through ball that found David Martínez, who confidently slotted the ball inside the far post.
Miami came out of halftime with even more determination, eager to take control of the game. For 25 minutes they completely dominated possession, working tirelessly to unlock the LAFC defense. But in a repeat of their first-half tests, Miami’s persistent probing only left them vulnerable. And in the 73rd minute, LAFC capitalized.
From his own half, Timothy Tillman played a ball behind the Miami defense that found Denis Bouanga on the counterattack. With Dayne St. Clair caught between two minds, Bouanga deftly headed the ball over the wide goalkeeper before flicking the ball into the open net.
If it hadn’t been before, the outcome now seemed inevitable.
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Even though Miami finished with nearly 70% possession, LAFC never looked uncomfortable, completely comfortable absorbing pressure and always looking capable of inflicting damage on the counterattack. Surprisingly, however, this was not the game plan.
As coach Marc Dos Santos explained, LAFC never intended to allow Miami so much possession. “It wasn’t a strategy,” he said, “especially in the second half.” But when substitute Nathan Ordaz made it 3-0 in the fourth minute of stoppage time, in another explosive counter, one would understandably have thought otherwise.
It was the icing on the cake for what seemed like a resounding victory. Beating the defending MLS Cup champions so emphatically doesn’t necessarily suggest broader implications for the league, especially so early in the season. But “winning like this and still having so much room to progress,” as Dos Santos said, is sure to turn heads around the league.