Inter Miami's Rotation Gamble Backfires as Herons Surrender Crucial Points in 1-1 Draw with D.C. United
Inter Miami's quest to retain their 2024 Supporters' Shield crown suffered a setback on Saturday evening, as the Florida club settled for a 1–1 stalemate against D.C. United at Audi Field in the nation's capital.
Despite traveling without star Designated Players Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba, manager Javier Mascherano chose to rest key players, marking only the third occasion since summer 2023 that no former Barcelona stars featured in Miami's starting eleven for an MLS regular season fixture.
The struggling hosts, now winless in their last 11 league outings, capitalized on Miami's rotated squad when Jackson Hopkins fired home a powerful 13th-minute effort past Miami's backup keeper, Rocco Rios Novo.
However, D.C. couldn't maintain their advantage, as Miami introduced five substitutes and found an equalizer through Baltasar Rodríguez in the 64th minute.
The result sees Miami drop to fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings with eight fixtures left to play.
D.C. United Player Ratings vs. Inter Miami
Players | Ratings (Out of 10) |
|---|---|
GK: Luis Baraza | 7.6 |
RB: Conner Antley | 6.8 |
CB: Kyle Rowles | 7.1 |
CB: Lucas Bartlett | 7.4 |
LB: David Schnegg | 7.1 |
RM: Gabriel Pirani | 6.6 |
CM: Matti Peltola | 7.7 |
LM: Brandon Servania | 6.9 |
RM: Hosei Kijima | 6.8 |
ST: Jackson Hopkins | 7.4 |
LM: Aaron Herrera | 6.0 |
SUB: Jacob Murrell (62' for Kijima) | 6.4 |
SUB: Jared Stroud (62' for Pirani) | 6.0 |
SUB: Rida Zouhir (73' for Servania) | 6.0 |
SUB: Peglow (74' for Hopkins) | 6.2 |
SUB: Dominique Badji (79' for Antley) | 5.9 |
Inter Miami Player Ratings vs. D.C. United
Players | Ratings (Out of 10) |
|---|---|
GK: Rocco Rios Novo | 6.8 |
RB: Marcelo Weigandt | 6.6 |
CB: Ryan Sailor | 7.0 |
CB: Gonzalo Lujan | 6.9 |
LB: Noah Allen | 7.3 |
CDM: David Ruiz | 7.4 |
CDM: Tomas Aviles | 7.1 |
RM: Benjamin Cremaschi | 7.1 |
CM: Telasco Segovia | 6.5 |
LM: Fafa Picault | 6.9 |
ST: Tadeo Allende | 6.2 |
SUB: Rodrigo De Paul (56' for Segovia) | 7.5 |
SUB: Baltasar Rodríguez (55' for Ruiz) | 7.9 |
SUB: Sergio Busquets (55' for Lujan) | 6.6 |
SUB: Luis Suárez (63' for Allende) | 6.9 |