City SC can’t hold leads, but snaps losing streak with 3-3 tie with Messi and Inter Miami (2024)

Lionel Messi had a goal and an assist for Inter Miami against City SC on Saturday night, but City SC still managed to come away with a point.

City SC snapped its three-game losing streak with a 3-3 tie with Inter Miami at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. City SC got goals from Chris Durkin and Indiana Vassilev and then an own goal off a corner kick by Eduard Lowen in the 68th minute. But each time City SC scored, Inter Miami was able to tie the game, getting a goal in the 85th minute by Jordi Alba that was ruled offside on the field but then overturned on video review.

City SC had felt that for much of its losing streak it had played well and been unfortunate to lose. While City SC didn’t dominate Miami, it was every bit as good, taking the lead three times against the league’s most star-studded team, and had chances for more goals but couldn’t finish them.

Lowen’s ability on free kicks and corner kicks was one of the things missing for City SC during his two-month absence. His line drive into the penalty area caromed into the head of Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez and into the net.

Lowen was back in the starting lineup for City SC for the first time since March 9. Lowen had gone from 15 minutes in his first game back to 20 in his second game. He went 82 minutes before being subbed out for Nokkvi Thorisson. Anthony Markanich returned to his left back spot after sitting out the previous two games, one because of a red card.

In the 85th minute, a well-timed run by Alba sent him in alone on goalkeeper Roman Burki for the tying goal. The assistant referee had ruled offside, but the video showed that Markanich had kept Alba on and the goal counted. Miami almost got a go-ahead goal in the 90th minute but a diving save by Burki kept it even. After the game, Messi went to Burki and swapped jerseys with him.

Durkin started the scoring in the 15th minute. After a City SC corner had been knocked out of the box, Celio Pompeu retrieved it near the sideline and passed it to Durkin, who came out of the top of the box to knock down the pass, then turned and shot from 20 yards inside the near post for just the second first-half goal for City SC in the past six games and his first with the club.

Rasmus Alm left the game in the 22nd minute after he collided with Miami’s Matias Rojas and fell to the ground in pain, holding his right knee. After a lengthy treatment, Alm walked off the field, but before he could be replaced, Messi sent to work. He dribbled around the top of City SC’s box, pursued by Tim Parker. Messi passed the ball to Jordi Alba, whose return pass into the box found an open Messi who tied the game with his 12th goal of the season.

Alm was replaced by Hosei Kijima when play resumed, and in the 41st minute, Kijima had a role in the goal that put City SC ahead again. Lowen stole the ball, Klauss took control and headed upfield, passing to Kijima who then passed to Vassilev, who took it into the box, did a little stepover move to get some space and scored to make it 2-1.

Vassilev played two seasons with Inter Miami on loan from English club Aston Villa before being taken by City SC in the expansion draft.

“I’m very thankful and grateful for the opportunities they gave me when I went over there,” Vassilev said Thursday. “I’m happy for their success. But at the end of the day, I play for St. Louis City, and I want us to be successful more than them. So yeah, I mean, it’s gonna be cool to be back in Fort Lauderdale — not Miami — but I’m focused on us and how we’re going to do and how we’re going to play and how we’re gonna get a result on there.”

City SC couldn’t hold that lead either. Four minutes after a diving save by Roman Burki had denied Messi from close range, a bad touch by Kijima turned the ball over in City SC’s end. Messi got the ball wide and crossed it to Luis Suarez, who may have fouled Markanich as he went for the ball, but there was no call and Suarez scored from a tight angle to tie the game.

Losing Alm for any amount of time would be bad for City SC, which learned Tuesday it would be without midfielder Tomas Ostrak for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. Alm has missed a lot of time in City SC’s first two seasons to injuries, but when he’s been on the field is when the team has been at its best.

The match ends a grueling three week stretch that has seen City SC play three of the five best teams in the league in Los Angeles FC, Cincinnati and Miami, teams that came into the weekend with a combined record of 28 wins, 10 losses and 10 ties. The next month looks a lot simpler for City SC, with games against Portland, Dallas, Colordo and Atlanta, two of which are below the playoff cutline and one of which is right on it. Also, the Inter Miami game was the 15th game of the season for City SC, in some cases two games less than other teams in the league.

Aziel Jackson wasn’t on the game-day roster for the first time this season as his reduced role with the team has increased. After starting the first seven MLS games of the season, he has started only one of the next seven, when coach Bradley Carnell rotated his roster for the midweek game when the team played three games in eight days. Nikolas Dyhr was also off the roster for the second straight game.