New York City FC thwart league favorites Inter Miami with a 2-2 draw at Chase Stadium on Saturday to start the 2025 season. Both teams played with abandon as offense was on display early. A goal from Miami was outdone by a red card which allowed City not just to equalize but also take advantage of mistakes to nearly pull out a win. Unfortunately for Pascal Jansen’s men, a stoppage time effort from newly minted Miami player Telesco Segovia made sure that the Southern Florida club shared hte points.
Things went to plan for Miami early in the contest with Tomas Aviles scoring in the fifth minute. Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba provided the service and made it look as if things would progress smoothly for the home club. That all changed just minutes later when the goalscorer was sent packing with a red card in the 23rd minute. Minutes later City legend Maxi Moralez was in the right place to feed Mitja Ilenic to equalize the scoreline.
Matters got worse for Miami in the second half when Alonso Martinez pounced on a bad back pass and scored City’s second goal. From there Miami was frustrated by the away side’s efforts and appeared as if they were minutes from surrendering an embarrassing early season loss. Unfortunately for City, they were unable to maintain their grip on the game as Messi found substitute Segovia deep into stoppage time to pull level with Jansen’s men.
The draw may feel like an overall disappointment but New York City showed both grit and ability against what is perceived to be the best club in MLS. That should speak volumes for their confidence in coming weeks as Martinez was able to continue his scoring ways and the City defense held up well against a formidable Miami offense.
Next week City will carry this momentum into Los Angeles where they will play LAFC. With this kind of performance, hopes should be high for a chance at continuing to take early season points against tough opposition.
STARTING XI:
New York City FC: Freese; Ilenic, Tanasijevic (46′ Shore), Risa, O’Toole (69′ Carvallo), Moralez (78, Haak, Parks, Wolf, Martinez (90′ Bakrar), Ojeda (69′ Fernandez)
Inter Miami: Ustari; Weigandt (46′ Redondo), Allen, Aviles, Alba, Ruiz (27′ Fray), Busquets, Cremaschi (59′ Lujan), Messi, Suarez (59′ Segovia), Picault
SCORING SUMMARY:
5′ (Inter Miami) Tomas Aviles (1) assisted by Lionel Messi & Jordi Alba
26′ (NYCFC) Mitja Ilenic (1) assisted by Maxi Moralez
55′ (NYCFC) Alonso Martinez (1) unassisted
90′ (Inter Miami) Telesco Segovia (1)
DISCIPLINE:
23′ (Inter Miami) Tomas Aviles – RED CARD
41′ (Inter Miami) Benjamin Cremaschi – YELLOW CARD
45′ (NYCFC) Strahinja Tanasijevic – YELLOW CARD
photo by Jordan Bank