Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup Title Defense Begins
The reigning Leagues Cup champions Inter Miami have started their defense of the club’s first ever title. Miami was placed in a group with two other Liga MX clubs, Tigres and Puebla. Puebla in recent history has been very hot and cold, not finding consistency in their league play. On the other hand, Tigres is a force to be reckoned with in Liga MX. They are perennial title contenders and are not a team to be overlooked in any tournament.
Inter Miami vs Puebla
First up on the schedule for Inter Miami was Puebla at home at Chase stadium. Although Puebla doesn’t strike fear in many opponents, this was a change of pace for Inter Miami taking on a Liga MX opponent for the first match of the tournament. Inter Miami proved to be ready for the occasion. The scoring started early with a Mattias Rojas goal at 9’ from a difficult angle. Robert Taylor was there with the very well-placed assist to help get Miami on the board. The rest of the match was dominated by Miami with strong possession and passing from the midfield. Luis Suarez sealed the deal for Miami at 72’ with an easy tap in assisted by Jordi Alba. The star of this sequence was Julian Gressel with a beautiful cross from the midfield to a running Jordi Alba that set him up for success. Final score was 2-0, getting Miami a much needed three points to start the tournament.
Inter Miami vs Tigres
Next up is Tigres, one of the best teams in Liga MX and in the whole Leagues Cup tournament. Tigres also beat Puebla on Wednesday, allowing Miami to advance to the knockout Round of 32. This does take some of the luster away from this much anticipated match but there still is seeding to fight for. If Inter Miami wins, they get the top seed in their group East 3 and with a loss they will get the second seed. They will be looking to face a team from the East 6 group, either Pachuca, Toronto FC, or NY Redbulls depending on the outcome of tonight’s Pachuca vs Toronto FC match.
In the pre-match press conference held on Friday, Inter Miami’s manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino was asked if the match would be approached differently since they have advanced to the next round. Tata stated, “It’s a good match to measure or test where we are at right now against one of the top contenders for the title. They (Tigres) are one of the most important clubs in the Leagues Cup and it would surely be a great test to see where we stand in this competition.” This club is hungry, not only to be on top of the MLS, but to make an impression in international play. A solid win against Tigres will do that for Miami. The match is set to take place on Saturday at 8pm ET in NRG Stadium in Houston, TX. It can be seen on the Apple TV MLS Season Pass.
