After four frustrating tries at their gleaming new home, Inter Miami CF finally cracked the code at Nu Stadium, beating the Portland Timbers 2-0 on Sunday night. Lionel Messi ran the show, scoring the opener and supplying the second, and the victory also delivered Miami's first home clean sheet of the season. When the final whistle hit, the place erupted, with chants of "Messi, Messi, Messi" bouncing around the bowl.
As reported by Local 10, Messi opened the scoring in the 31st minute after a patient passing move that started with Luis Suárez and finished with a slick backheel from Telasco Segovia. That touch gave Segovia his sixth assist of the season. Ten minutes later, Messi dribbled into space and set up Germán Berterame to make it 2-0. Earlier in the night, Portland goalkeeper James Pantemis had come up with a huge save to keep things level. The result snapped Miami's winless streak at the venue and nudged the reigning MLS Cup champions back toward the top of the Eastern Conference.
Messi Breaks Nu Stadium Jinx
Nu Stadium had started to feel like a bad-luck charm through the opening weeks of the season, but Messi took care of that storyline in one night. As noted by AS, his goal and assist are part of a larger hot streak that stretches right into the MLS pause for the World Cup.
Numbers Tell The Story
On the stat sheet, Miami carried the clearer attacking edge. The hosts fired off 20 shots, with nine on target, while Portland finished with 16 shots and four on target. Miami's expected-goals number sat around 3.0 compared with Portland's 0.82, a tidy summary of how often the home side found dangerous positions. The fourth official signaled five minutes of stoppage time, and Miami calmly saw off Portland's late push to lock in the clean sheet. Those figures line up with the local match report and postgame statistics from Local 10.
New Home, Next Test
Nu Stadium, Inter Miami's new home at Miami Freedom Park, opened in April and lists its address as 1000 Stadium Drive in Miami, FL, on the venue's official site. The club now shifts focus to what AS described as its final MLS match before the World Cup pause, a showdown with the Philadelphia Union next weekend. For more on the venue and upcoming events, see Nu Stadium.
