Inter Miami’s dismal form worsened on Sunday night as they were soundly beaten 3-0 at home by state rivals Orlando City in the Florida derby.
The heavy loss leaves Lionel Messi and his teammates stuck in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, now winless in three games and with just two victories in their last eight MLS outings.
Messi had a chance to open the scoring midway through the first half, but Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese produced a fine save to keep the Argentine out.
Minutes later, Luis Muriel made the breakthrough, scoring two minutes before the break.
Although the hosts had more shots overall, Orlando edged the first half in terms of attacking efficiency, posting an expected goals (xG) of 1.08 compared to Miami’s 0.42. The goal itself came directly from a long ball by Gallese, which Muriel expertly controlled and slotted home.
Orlando doubled their lead just eight minutes after the restart when Marco Pasalic’s effort slipped past Inter Miami keeper Oscar Ustari.
The visitors had already missed earlier chances to increase their lead, so the second goal was a fair reflection of their dominance and made it even harder for Miami to build any rhythm in the game.
The final blow came in stoppage time, when substitute Dagur Dan Thorhallsson tapped in from close range after Duncan McGuire’s smart cutback, sealing the emphatic win.
Orlando’s victory sees them leap to fifth in the Eastern Conference ahead of their U.S. Open Cup clash with Nashville.
Meanwhile, Inter Miami face a daunting trip to conference leaders Philadelphia Union this weekend.
The defeat marked a historic low for Messi, representing the worst home league loss of his club career in any of his 313 appearances on home turf.
Despite firing 21 shots to Orlando’s 16, Miami’s efforts lacked quality. Messi alone registered nine attempts—more than any other Miami player in an MLS game this season—but the team’s overall xG was just 1.08 compared to Orlando’s 2.9.
Orlando continue to be clinical when striking first, now boasting five wins and two draws in the eight MLS matches where they opened the scoring. In contrast, Miami have managed just one win in five games when conceding first.
Sunday’s win extends Orlando City’s unbeaten MLS run to 11 matches, their best streak since October 2020.
