Inter Miami recovered from two goals down to win 3-2 in Montreal in Major League Soccer on Saturday, with Luis Suarez scoring again as the league leaders won their fifth consecutive game.
Miami has made a habit of starting slowly this season and was caught off guard once again when Montreal took the lead in the 22nd minute, much to the delight of a sellout crowd.
Former Miami player Bryce Duke put the ball between Drake Callender’s legs after smart work from Jules-Anthony Vilsaint down the left.
Montreal thought they should have taken a penalty when Mathieu Choiniere was brought down by Marcelo Weigandt, but referee Drew Fischer rejected the appeals.
Montreal had a surprise win in Florida against a weakened Miami team in March and another surprise came when they won 2-0 on the 32nd.
Vilsaint received a strong pull from Ariel Lassiter from the left and showed great balance as he picked his position with a side-footed finish into the far corner.
Lionel Messi briefly left the field to draw attention after a strong challenge and, while the Argentine was away, his team won a free kick in the box – where the World Cup winner can be so deadly.
In the absence of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, Paraguayan Matias Rojas took the free kick and finished worthy of his captain, curling the ball over the wall and into the corner.
Near halftime, Miami equalized when Julian Gressel took a low corner and Suarez connected with the ball from close range to score his 11th league goal of the season.
Miami looked like a different team and it was no surprise when they scored the winning goal in the 59th minute, the impressive Rojas fired the ball over a pushed Montreal defense and Benjamin Cremaschi pounced on the pass before scoring.
Montreal exerted some late pressure, but Miami held firm to secure their eighth win in 13 games.
Inter coach Gerardo Martino said he approached the match in the wrong way.
“It shouldn’t change the way the team plays, we didn’t feel comfortable, today I tried to change because of the opponent’s strengths and in the minutes I tried to play we were losing 2-0”, he said. .
– Crew defeated –
MLS champions Columbus Crew suffered a 2-1 loss in the Ohio Classic at home to FC Cincinnati, who avenged their loss to their state rivals in last year’s Eastern Conference Final.
Cincy, second in the East, went ahead in the 74th minute when MLS Most Valuable Player Luciano Acosta reached the baseline and crossed to the far post, headed in by Kevin Kelsy.
Two minutes later, Acosta doubled the lead, receiving a clever ball from Pavel Bucha and showing off his clever footwork before scoring.
Maximilian Arfsten scored for Columbus in the 89th minute, but it was too late for Wilfried Nancy’s team to mount a comeback.
Belgian international Christian Benteke scored three headed goals as DC United won 3-2 in Atlanta, including a 55th-minute corner to win the contest.
Colombian Luis Muriel scored twice for Orlando City in an impressive 3-2 victory at the Philadelphia Union.
Muriel, the former Atalanta striker, put Orlando 2-1 up in the 42nd minute with a stunning long-range shot after cutting in from the right.
He added the second just after the break with a cool finish after being picked off by Nicolas Lodeiro, and although Daniel Gazdag scored for Philadelphia from the penalty spot, Orlando took all three points.
Brazilian João Klauss scored two goals for St.Louis in a 3-1 derby win over the Chicago Fire, while in the Texas derby, Dallas beat Austin 2-1.
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