Inter Miami and Toronto FC played out a 1-1 draw in Major League Soccer on Saturday. Lionel Messi had several chances to score but was kept out by the excellent goalkeeping of Sean Johnson at BMO Field. Messi had entered the match with five goals in his last three games, but his run came to an end here.
Miami took the lead just before halftime. Jordi Alba sent in a cross during stoppage time, and Tadeo Allende rose highest to head the ball into the net.Toronto found their equalizer in the 60th minute. Djordje Mihailovic took advantage of a defensive mistake by Miami and finished from close range to bring the home side level.Messi pressed hard to put his team back in front, creating several chances.
Johnson, however, continued to frustrate him with important saves, ensuring Miami could not grab the winner. Despite this, Messi remains the league’s top scorer with 24 goals in 23 matches.Inter coach Javier Mascherano said he believed Miami deserved the victory. He admitted the team looked shaky for a spell in the second half but felt they controlled most of the match. He praised Toronto’s goalkeeper as the man of the match and stressed that Miami will keep pushing to finish the season strong.
With the draw, Miami now sit third in the Eastern Conference with 56 points. They are four points behind leaders Philadelphia but still have a game in hand. The team has already secured a playoff spot, but defensive mistakes continue to cause problems. Johnson’s brilliant performance in goal made the key difference and denied Miami from taking all three points.
