Inter Miami Suffer Fourth Straight MLS Game Without Win After Toronto Defeat

Inter Miami’s struggles continued on Saturday night as Lionel Messi’s side fell to a 2-1 defeat against Toronto FC, extending its winless run in Major League Soccer to four matches.

The result leaves the Florida club with little room for error in its bid to maintain second place in the Eastern Conference, with its lead over the chasing pack beginning to shrink. Messi scored for the Herons, but his effort was not enough to prevent another disappointing result.

Miami dominated possession early on, but Toronto looked more threatening on the counter. Derrick Etienne Jr. repeatedly caused problems down the right flank with his pace, although the visitors were unable to turn their promising attacks into goals.

Inter Miami created its first meaningful opportunity in the 19th minute when Rodrigo De Paul found Luis Suárez with a well-timed pass. The veteran striker broke between the defenders and had room to advance towards goal, but he rushed his finish and fired several yards wide of the far post.

The hosts continued to control proceedings for the remainder of the opening half, with Tadeo Allende and Suárez both finding space inside the Toronto penalty area. However, poor finishing prevented Miami from taking advantage of its dominance as the teams went into the break level.

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The second half followed a similar pattern, with Miami enjoying much of the possession, but Toronto eventually found the breakthrough.

In the 59th minute, Josh Sargent received the ball just outside the penalty area before shifting it onto his left foot and curling a precise effort into the corner. The finish gave goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair no chance and handed Toronto the lead, with Sargent scoring his fourth goal of the season.

The visitors doubled their advantage shortly afterwards. Etienne reacted quickest to a loose ball inside the box after St. Clair had parried an initial effort, tapping the rebound into an empty net to put Toronto 2-0 ahead.

Inter Miami responded by throwing more players forward, but its increasing desperation made it difficult for the hosts to create clear-cut opportunities. Toronto’s defence remained firm until Messi provided a moment of individual brilliance.

De Paul slipped a perfectly weighted pass into Messi’s path, sending the Argentine through one-on-one with goalkeeper Luka Gavran. Messi kept his composure and finished first time into the corner to reduce the deficit and give Miami hope of salvaging a point.

The equaliser, however, never came. Toronto held firm through the closing stages to secure a historic victory at home and hand Inter Miami another setback.

The result marked Toronto’s first victory over Inter Miami in a match in which Messi featured. The win temporarily moved Toronto into 10th place in the Eastern Conference, while Miami remains second but could drop to third if Chicago Fire win their game in hand.