Inter Miami had a promising start to the current Major League Soccer (MLS) season, but things have gone downhill fast. Lionel Messi’s side appears to be gradually losing its way, both in form and in confidence.
On Monday, Inter Miami suffered a heavy 3–0 defeat at home to arch-rivals Orlando City. This marks their fifth loss in the last seven matches — a troubling sign for a team that was once seen as a title contender.
Even with Messi in the lineup, fans are beginning to wonder: has Miami lost its direction?
The match at Chase Stadium, Miami’s home ground, saw Orlando dominate with goals from Luis Muriel, Marco Pašalić, and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson. It was Orlando’s first win over their state rivals in two years and their first ever with Messi on the opposing team.
With this victory, Orlando extended their unbeaten run to 11 matches and climbed to fifth place in the MLS standings. For Miami, the loss ended a four-match unbeaten streak in Florida derby fixtures.
It was also the second time in three league games that Inter Miami has lost by a three-goal margin. And worse — this was their first league match of the season where they failed to score a single goal.
The game began with an even exchange of attacking play from both sides. But the breakthrough came from a brilliantly coordinated Orlando move. Starting from goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, a sequence of well-timed passes led to Luis Muriel calmly slotting the ball past Miami’s defense and into the net.
Inter Miami trailed 1–0 at halftime, but the real damage came in the second half. Early on, Orlando launched a lightning-fast counterattack off a corner. Though Martín Ojeda missed a golden opportunity by firing wide, the second goal wasn’t far behind.
Goalkeeper Óscar Ustari made a costly mistake, letting a relatively tame shot from Marco Pašalić slip through his legs — a moment of silence fell over the stadium as fans watched the blunder unfold. From there, Miami never recovered.
Lionel Messi did try to rally his team late in the game, unleashing a powerful left-footed strike from the left side. But Pedro “El Pulpo” Gallese, nicknamed “The Octopus” for his incredible reflexes, made a full-body save to deny the Argentine superstar.
As the clock wound down, Orlando showed no signs of letting up. Ramiro Enrique hit the post, and in the final moments, Dagur Thórhallsson sealed the deal with a thunderous right-footed strike to make it 3–0. It was, truly, a nightmare night for Inter Miami.
After 14 games this season, Miami now sits with 6 wins, 2 draws, and 6 losses. But the real concern lies in recent form: 5 losses in their last 7 games and 20 goals conceded in that stretch — an average of nearly 3 goals per match. Without urgent and significant improvements in defense, Miami’s season could spiral further into darkness.
