Can Inter Miami Recover After Stunning Collapse vs. Atlanta?

After a stellar regular season that saw them claim an MLS record 74 points as well as finish atop the league’s scoring charts with 79 goals, Inter Miami looked poised for a deep postseason run in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs. The Herons faced off against Atlanta United — who had finished 34 points behind them — in the Round of 16, which, unlike other rounds in the MLS playoffs, is a best-of-three series.

Having edged them 2-0 in the first match, Miami looked on course for their first-ever quarterfinal berth after taking the lead in Georgia in the second leg, only for Derrick Williams to pull level for Atlanta. It seemed that the Five Stripes would have to come out on top in a do-or-die penalty shootout until the 94th minute, when Xande Silva completed the comeback and forced a tiebreaker in Florida.

Whilst Matías Rojas broke the deadlock early on for Miami, Jamal Thiaré responded by scoring two goals in quick succession. Lionel Messi would equalize for the hosts, but Bartosz Slisz’s go-ahead goal as well as Brad Guzan’s impenetrable performance in goal would see Atlanta prevail and book their ticket for the final eight, where they lost to Orlando City.

“You cannot lose two out of three games to a team that finished 34 points behind you,” said ex USMNT international Taylor Twellman in an RG News interview. “Jordi Alba can talk about playoff format but that’s just excuses, you had three opportunities to beat them, and you lost two, including a tiebreaker at home. Inter Miami choked. They didn’t have a great understanding in defense and I think that falls on manager Tata Martino. It certainly wasn’t a personnel issue: 10 years from now, we’re going to be talking about them in the top 2-3 rosters ever in the history of MLS.”

It looks set to be a massive offseason as they look to build around their veteran core of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez, all of whom won the treble with Barcelona in 2014/15. It seems that they will be reuniting with another ex Barcelona teammate in Javier Mascherano, who looks set to leave his post as Argentina’s U-23 manager and begin a new chapter in Fort Lauderdale.

Since Messi’s arrival in July 2023, Inter Miami have gone from the bottom-placed team in MLS to winning the Leagues Cup and claiming the Supporters’ Shield with the highest points tally in MLS history…but can they pull off the crowning achievement in American soccer? Time is running out for the Herons as they look to capitalize on their veteran leaders and claim their first-ever MLS Cup.