HARRISON, N.J. — The New York Red Bulls opened the scoring, but shaky defending quickly turned momentum the other way, as Inter Miami responded with five unanswered goals in a 5-1 rout Saturday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
The Red Bulls started on the front foot, with their high press causing trouble for the Inter Miami defense on multiple occasions. The home side capitalized on their strong start, taking a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute off a well-executed set piece. Emil Forsberg delivered a pinpoint cross into the six-yard box, where Alexander Hack extended his left leg to redirect it into the back of the net.
The early momentum, however, quickly faded. A few defensive missteps allowed Inter Miami to grow into the match, and it wasn’t long before the visitors found their breakthrough. Lionel Messi ignited the comeback with a trademark moment of vision and precision. Drifting into space just outside the box, he picked out Jordi Alba with a perfectly timed through ball that split the Red Bulls’ defense. Alba took it in stride near the six-yard box and fired a powerful shot into the roof of the net, leveling the match at 1-1 and shifting the momentum firmly in Inter Miami’s favor.
Inter Miami took the lead moments later, once again orchestrated by Messi. The Argentine playmaker floated a delicate ball over the top to find Alba making another well-timed run down the left. Alba brought it down smoothly and played a first-time ball across the face of the goal, where Matías Rojas Segovia was perfectly positioned to tap it home from close range, putting the visitors up 2-1.
Miami extended their lead to 3-1 after a chaotic sequence in the box. Alba floated a ball into the area, and Federico Redondo battled to keep it alive amid some shaky Red Bulls defending. The ball eventually fell to Segovia, who curled a well-placed shot into the net for his second of the night.
Messi put the game further out of reach with a brilliant solo finish, set up by an impeccable pass from Sergio Busquets. The midfielder carved open the Red Bulls’ defense with a perfectly weighted, curling ball that found Messi racing into space on the break. With ease and precision, Messi shrugged off weak challenges, left Carlos Coronel behind and calmly rolled the ball into the empty net to make it 4-1.
Inter Miami wrapped up their goal-scoring fest with a fifth goal as Messi once again found the back of the net. The move built through the middle before Federico Cremaschi fed Luis Suárez on the left, who curled a perfect first-time cross to the far post. Messi controlled the bounce, slipped past Hack and coolly finished to cap off the dominant performance.
Despite the Red Bulls’ strong start and early goal, head coach Sandro Schwarz expressed shock at how quickly the game slipped away. “We started very well tonight,” he said, but noted that “transition moments weren’t good.”
After conceding 10 goals across their last three matches, Schwarz acknowledged the defensive issues but pushed back on broad conclusions. “We need to look at it a different way. Each game is different,” he said. “Team needs to defend better, yes. But the momentum… we can’t analyze the second half.”
Looking ahead, Schwarz said the team is focused on regrouping for their next match. “The group is just focusing on next Saturday. It’s a regular week. Time to analyze what needs to be improved. Team will do that ahead of Chicago.”
The Red Bulls will look to bounce back next Saturday as they go on the road to take on the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field.
