Inter Miami’s Champions Cup dreams fade with gut-punch Monterrey loss

For all of Miami’s experience, a youthful mistake may have sealed its Champions Cup fate

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — For all the talk of Inter Miami’s cadre of experienced superstars, a moment of youthful indiscretion may have just cost the club a shot at the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Despite the absence of Lionel Messi (hamstring), Miami spent an hour frustrating Liga MX powerhouse Monterrey, nosing out in front in the process, only to suffer a 2-1 first-leg loss in the continental competition’s quarterfinal round.

Tomás Avilés pushed the Herons out in front, only for David Ruiz’s second-half red card — the result of two bookings in a four-minute span — to set the stage for Los Rayados to claim victory.

Before Miami could sort itself out after going down a man, Maxi Meza equalized, and Jorge Rodríguez’s dramatic late winner gave Monterrey a massive edge going into Wednesday’s second leg.

Despite being at home, Tata Martino set a normally attack-minded Miami up to absorb pressure, calling to mind the Argentine coach’s successful counter-attacking run to MLS Cup glory in 2018 with Atlanta United.

The Herons’ defensive discipline and patience caught Monterrey, who seemed prepared for a more open affair, off guard. Manager Fernando Ortiz urged his fullbacks forward, often leaving just two center backs and a defensive midfielder to handle duties at the other end.

Even with Miami’s end flooded with blue-and-white striped shirts, the host’s caution was rewarded just before halftime, and by one of its least-likely scorers.

With the Herons largely deprived of the ball throughout the game’s early stages, a 19th-minute corner felt primarily like a chance to take a breath and come to grips with the task at hand.

However, Julian Gressel — Miami’s outstanding player on the night by some distance — had other ideas, driving a corner into space vacated by Nicolás Friere. 19-year-old center back Tomás Avilés, who started the match with just one professional goal to his name, belied his track record with a sharp finish from close range.

Virtually out of the blue, Miami had spotted its path out of trouble.

A frustrated Ortiz pulled captain Hector Moreno at halftime, and changed his formation before the hour mark, giving U.S. men’s national team striker Brandon Vazquez a strike partner in Germán Berterame at the expense of Mexico midfielder Luis Romo.

However, it turned out the help Monterrey needed would come from Miami. Young midfielder David Ruiz had been booked in the 61st minute, and four minutes later inexplicably flicked an arm out after a collision with Meza. The contact was slight, but referee Walter López had little choice but to book Ruiz again, leaving the Honduran to trudge off the Chase Stadium pitch.

Martino quickly pivoted to protecting a slender lead, bringing center back Ryan Sailor on and leaving Luis Suárez up top by his lonesome. It may have worked if Miami could defend a corner in the moments after that change, but Monterrey finally found a way to strike back.

Sergio Canales picked out Vazquez, who was denied by a brilliant Drake Callender save, but Meza had no trouble finishing the rebound.

Miami turned a hopeful look towards VAR, with Victor Guzmán lurking in an offside position. Though López was summoned to the touchline monitor, a crucial Rayados away goal stood.

The red card wasn’t simply a numerical problem for Miami, but an emotional one. Monterrey smelled blood, while the Herons seemed overly focused on getting a call out of López that would somehow balance things out.

Against any Liga MX side, that’s a dangerous game. Against Monterrey, the title contenders who have more Concacaf Champions Cup trophies in the last 13 years than MLS has as a league? It’s courting disaster.

Miami expending its remaining focus on two penalty shouts and some modest scuffles off the ball, and Monterrey’s moment to twist the knife came just before stoppage time began.

A long spell of pressure ended with Avilés trying to play his way out of trouble rather than simply lumping the ball into the stands. That risky approach saw a pass run away from the exhausted Diego Gómez, who then simply didn’t have the legs to close Rodríguez.

The Rayados midfielder did the rest, curling home a jaw-dropper from 22 yards.

For a stadium featuring several thousand Monterrey fans — a few dozen of whom could be seen arriving on a double-decker tour bus decked out with banners and flags — it was pure jubilation. The sight may have been new to Miami, but for anyone familiar with MLS’s long and largely frustrating history in Concacaf competition, it was a rerun.

The defeat leaves Miami in need of one of the most rare things for an MLS club: a win in Mexico. In 75 prior Concacaf Champions Cup or Champions League attempts, teams from MLS have claimed just five victories, losing 56 times in the process.

If Miami can’t push that meager total up to six, its ambitions to lean on Messi and become a regional power may well go up in smoke.

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