After getting knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup, Inter Miami returns to MLS action with a visit to CF Montreal on Saturday.
Miami (8-3-5, 29 points), which was eliminated from the CWC with a 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain last week, will play an MLS match for the first time since May 31. It’s the start of a busy stretch for the South Florida side, with seven matches over the next 25 days, including four over the next 11.
Four of their next five matches will be on the road.
“Clearly, we have a lot of games coming up, plus all the ones we have already played, so we will need everyone to participate,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “We’ll see how we can manage some roster changes without feeling it too much because I don’t like to change six or seven players from one match to the other.”
Captain Lionel Messi will be among those available as the club heads north of the border, but injuries will keep midfielders Yannick Bright and David Ruiz as well as defender Gonzalo Lujan out of action. The trio practiced separately on Friday and are expected to return soon.
Miami dropped from third to seventh in the Eastern Conference while participating in the Club World Cup and will be looking to pick up where it left off in MLS action.
Miami went 2-1-2 in its last five MLS matches before the CWC, including two straight wins — one of which came against Montreal on May 28.
“We are motivated against Montreal because we want to earn three points, and we want to be in first place in the league. We have a lot of games this month and we want to win them all,” Miami midfielder Telasco Segovia said.
Montreal (3-12-5, 14 points) will be looking to build off its first home win of the season after a 1-0 victory against New York City FC last week. Midfielder Victor Loturi scored the lone tally.
It was Loturi’s second goal of the season, with his previous one coming in Montreal’s loss to Miami back on May 28. He’s one of just four players on the team with multiple goals, along with Prince Owusu (7), Giacomo Vrioni (3), and Dante Sealy (2).
Montreal has won two of its past three matches, but its season-long struggles for results have kept it in last place in the Eastern Conference.
“Even if the results haven’t been there, we haven’t played differently (in the losses) compared to the two wins,” Montreal midfielder Samuel Piette said.
–Field Level Media
