Messi and Suarez stumbled in attack, while the Herons' defense repeatedly crumbled in loss to in-state rivals, extending winless stretch

Inter Miami dropped points for the third straight game, their defense repeatedly collapsing as a rampant Orlando City trounced them 3-0 at Chase Stadium Sunday night. It was a miserable home loss for the Herons, who were lacking in attack and entirely listless in defense, thoroughly beaten on their own patch, extending their winless stretch to six of the last seven.

Miami enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half, without doing much with it. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both had half chances, but found themselves well denied by a structured Orlando defensive unit. Orlando, for their part, picked their moments to break. They attacked Miami's disorganized high line with a simple long ball, veteran striker Luis Muriel running on to a goal kick before finishing past a stranded Oscar Ustari.

The Herons collapsed in the second half. Orlando continued to hit on the break, and were good value for their second, Marco Pasalic's shot squirming through Ustari's arms. Miami probed for an answer, but never really looked like scoring. Orlando squeezed all of the spaces, and seemed to shut every gap.

They grabbed their deserved third in second half stoppage time, Duncan McGuire stretching the defense with a run in the channel before cutting back to Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, who couldn't miss from five yards out.

Miami Manager Javier Mascherano has real problems here, a team unsure when to press and when to drop. The result is a side that can be hit on the break far too easily – and is too predictable in attack. The 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield winrers are slipping in the Eastern Conference, and only have themselves to blame.

GOAL rates Inter Miami's players from Chase Stadium.

Goalkeeper & Defense

Oscar Ustari (4/10):

Made a couple of decent saves, then ruined it all with an absolute howler to hand Orlando their second goal.

Ian Fray (4/10):

Poor on the night. Didn't offer much going forward, and failed to track a few back post runs that could have really hurt his side.

Maxi Falcon (4/10):

Ouch. Some of his positioning was truly woeful, and he deserves every bit of the blame he got for the first goal.

Gonzalo Lujan (5/10):

The better of the two center-backs on the night, but still seemed to lose his defensive sense every now and then.

Noah Allen (6/10):

Equipped himself well in a left back turned center back role, but doesn't have the key understanding with Alba on the left.

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Yannick Bright (5/10):

Not his best game. Covered ground effectively, but could have been cleaner on the ball.

Sergio Busquets (5/10):

Clever when he had it, but looked so, so, so slow.

Jordi Alba (5/10):

Played as a sort of left midfield/left wing hybrid, which got him into some good positions.

Lionel Messi (7/10):

In and out of the game. Full of ideas, had a couple of shots well denied, but nothing quite came off. Needs to stop having a go at refs, it would seem.

Tadeo Allende (5/10):

Doesn't function particularly well agains low blocks, and never had the final ball in him.

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Luis Suarez (5/10):

Started slow, but grew into the game a bit. Always looks willing to run, even if his legs don't respond as well these days.

Subs & Manager

Telasco Segovia (5/10):

Ran around a lot without offering much.

Fafa Picault (6/10):

Made things happen, stretched the defense, but couldn't provide a killer moment.

Federico Redondo (N/A):

No time to make an impact.

Allen Obando (N/10):

No time to make an impact.

Tomas Aviles (N/A):

No time to make an impact.

Javier Mascherano (4/10):

A rough one. Tried to implement some tactical ideas but they never worked. Three without a win isn't great, but six winless in the last seven, in all competitions? Troubling.