D.C. United vs. Inter Miami: Preview, time and how to watch
Today, D.C. United play their second home match of the season, hosting the star-studded Inter Miami at Audi Field.
Both teams come into this match in decent form as Miami enters the match on top of the Eastern Conference while D.C. sits in sixth. Though Miami leads the East, it’s only by a razor-thin margin despite being one of two teams with an extra game played than the rest of the league (having faced Real Salt Lake in the standalone MLS season opener). Miami only boasts seven of twelve possible points, while D.C. has earned five from a possible nine. It is an important match for both sides that would boost morale for either side’s likely conflicting early season outlooks.
D.C. United’s recent shift in philosophy under new head coach Troy Lesesne has helped them remain unbeaten in the first three matchdays, two of those games being very hard-fought away draws to the Portland Timbers and FC Cincinnati. Having to play without some big names in recent weeks, the entire D.C. squad has dug deep to earn results. The biggest of those missing players looks likely to return as Christian Benteke seems set to play for the first time since his injury in warmups on matchday two. Even with their star player back, that extra effort and readiness to fight for the team shown in his absence will be crucial to a result against Miami.
Inter Miami has been the talk of the league since it acquired Lionel Messi and his former Barcelona teammates, who joined in tow. While they have put in some good performances so far, the Herons are likely to be more so disappointed than satisfied with their start to the season.
The most significant factor in the underwhelming performances for a team with players of such caliber has been the consistent injuries and fatigue that have affected their stars so far this year. Having to play Concacaf Champions Cup matches in addition to league games has taken a toll on the players.
Messi wasn’t present for the Montréal clash that handed Miami their first league loss this season, as he picked up an injury in a midweek Cup match against Nashville. However, he returned to training later that week and played in the reverse fixture. Getting Miami off to a flying start with a goal and an assist, the Argentine came off the pitch in the 50′ after some discomfort in his hamstring. Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino had essentially ruled Messi out for the match against D.C. immediately following Miami’s win. Officially listed as out in the matchday injury report, there’s a very slim chance the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner will play any part in the nation’s capital (I only refrain from saying there’s a 0% chance of his inclusion for my own piece of mind). Although this is a huge blow to Miami – and all in attendance – it is another boost for D.C.’s chances.
While Messi’s absence helps D.C., you still must consider the quality and star power still at Inter Miami’s disposal. With the likes of Luis Suarez in attack, Sergio Busquets in midfield, Jordi Alba in defense, and many more quality players, D.C. still have their work cut out for them. It will be a good test for Lesesne’s men.
Key Player(s): The Backline
The entire United defense will be key in this matchup. Playing very well so far this season, the D.C. backline has looked much calmer and more composed than last season. While Lucas Bartlett’s substitution after a knock in D.C.’s last match against FC Cincinnati showed a less stable backline, he is not listed in the D.C. injury report. Excellent work ethic from the team and determination from the defenders, as well as a masterclass from Alex Bono, were key in stopping the Argentinian playmaker who was named last season’s league MVP. While the United backline won’t have to deal with another Argentinean playmaker – this one widely considered the MVP of the entire sport’s history – Miami has many other players that will be keeping the D.C. defenders busy.
Watch out for: The Barça Boys
While Miami has many integral pieces aside from its host of former Barcelona players, you just can’t not highlight them going into whatever match they’re playing. Each being considered all-timers in their respective positions; the things Suarez, Busquets, and Alba are capable of are of a different class.
D.C. United Availability:
Out: Steven Birnbaum (knee), Tyler Miller (shoulder), Garrison Tubbs (Thigh)
Questionable: Russell Canouse (ankle), Ted KuDi-Pietro (knee)
Inter Miami Availability:
Out: Benjamin Cremaschi (sports hernia), Facundo Farias (knee), Ian Fray (knee), Franco Negri (knee), Robbie Robinson (knee), Lionel Messi (hamstring)
Location: Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
Kickoff Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Referee: Lorenzo Hernandez
Available streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
We get to welcome back Julian Gressel to Audi Field. He hasn’t been the most impactful yet, but there’s nothing quite like a “revenge game” to find yourself on the scoresheet.
The good news is that Lucas Bartlett is back, as you noted, and that Christian Benteke should be ready to go. Taylor Twellman – who has watched this Miami team as much as anybody – noted that they don’t do well defending set pieces, and who better to take advantage of that then Benteke? Or possibly McVey, or Bartlett, or Peltola, or Murrell or Akinmboni if they get in the game. Speaking of McVey, apparently he’s something like 9th all-time in games played for Miami. So while the roster has had a lot of turnover, and there’s not really a book on how to stop Suarez, Busquets, and Alba, McVey should at least know what there is to know about Miami.
Also, I’m still salty about Ally Mackay not buying out Martin Rodriguez and going after Robert Taylor as a replacement. Watch him score today.
Miami has only beaten DC one time. It was back in 2022, and it was the game that Christian Benteke scored his first goal for DC. It was also the game where Taxi hurled his (first) racial slur. And I’m pretty sure that was the last game I saw in person. My wife was very pregnant with our second kid at the time (and he is why I haven’t been back to a game yet; caring for two is much different than caring for one), so we got field level seats. It was a fun treat, and something I recommend doing at least once on a special occasion.
Hopefully DC can come out on top today.
Yup ik that feeling. I’ve got my almost 2 year old daughter Ellie, and daughter #2 will be born on May 8th (assuming she doesn’t decide to come earlier) via scheduled c-section. Ellie watcher her first DCU game in the hospital with daddy back on May 21, 2022. Ellie just went down for a nap which she fought for a solid 20 minutes.
Starting XI for DCU:
Bono
Herrera, Bartlett, McVey, Santos
Peltola, Klich
Stroud, Pirani, Dajome
Benteke
Bench:
Antley, Rodriguez, Murrell, Hopkins, Fletcher, Akinmbone, Zamudio
AppleTV lineup says it’s a 4-1-3-2, and I sincerely hope not, way too top heavy
Another game without a full bench, we really need to pick up a lot of points now because this squad is going to fade down the stretch without 2-3 replacements.
If Rodriguez is a non- contributor this season, it’s especially bad.
Injury report: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mlssoccer-com-injury-report
Out: Birnbaum (knee), Miller (shoulder), Tubbs (thigh)
Questionable: KDP (knee), Canouse (ankle)
Our style of play, early on, Miami no like.
The number of things I’d rather do than listen to Twellman talk at length is not small, but here we are
Pirani continues to be ugh
Pirani does get a nice potential assist to Benteke, but Christian shows some real foot rust
Stroud can score!!!! Golazo!!!!
1-0 to the team with legal DP’s!!!
Honestly, looks like Mackay fleeced STL in the Durkin trade. Two starters AND cash? Thank you very much.
I was going incredulous about the Durkin trade, but that was when I believed we were getting scrubs. Clearly a great deal.
Superior fleecing
McVey gets a yellow for something I’m not convinced was actually a foul
Darth Garber is pleased
Ref clearly isn’t noticing that Miami are throwing themselves to the ground whenever there’s a 50/50 ball. So far it’s working for them.
Jinx
It happens a lot when one team is playing at a higher intensity so they’re coming into 50-50s at a sprint. When you come in at that speed you have to definitively win the ball and not just get a piece of it.
This ref has shown no ability to judge what is a tenacious pressure tackle and what is a foul. Protect the pink, I guess.
Shit, some chaotic play in our own end leads to an equalizer
Clear foul on Miamis goal. Does the ref call it? Of course not. Why? They are wearing pink. McVey gets clipped in the ankle trying to clear by the player on the ground.
Peltola needs to stay further back to protect the back 4. Miami are attacking the space behind him on the counter.
Think it’s more Klich getting forward too much, which may be by design, but it’s not working
We’re playing way too top heavy with a massive gap between the last midfielder and the backline for Miami to run into. I expect adjustments at the half.
Okay…what is this ref ACTUALLY doing?
Darth Garber probably talked to the refs about the franchise.
Darth Garber has released on of his children, after “conditioning”
Dajome looked to have an actual play on that ball where Busquets had a handful of his jersey.
That yellow on Herrera seemed pretty harsh.
Shirt pull by Busquets on the free kicks, but it’s clear and obvious we’re DC United
So what about that VAR made it seem like there wasn’t a foul??? Dajome gets his head that ball if Busquets doesn’t grab his shirt and yank him. Awful.
I don’t like to complain about refs, but this guy definitely is deciding a lot of things done to DC are not fouls.
Pay your refs, MLS.
It’s crazy to me, but it seems this ref is charmed by the franchise, with or without Messi out there
A disgrace
6 minutes for the first half with no injury delays… this ref is a moron
Taylor Twellman doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Lesesne has said time and time again that this isn’t the Red Bulls and he’s not a Red Bulls coach. DC plays with energy and presses. That’s not a Red Bulls thing.
TBF, Redbull ideology isn’t confined to NJ. It’s a multi club ideology about high pressing and turnovers. It’s not his dumbest observation today
My annoyance is that Twellman and many other analysts say that DC wants to be the Red Bulls because Lesesne just coached there. Which is ignorant to the fact that Lesesne has coached elsewhere and developed his own system. He didn’t just show up in NJ and go “Oh yea, this’ll do.” It’s a naive observation, in my opinion.
We do play by a lot of the tenets of RedBull philosophy under Lesesne. We play a high line generally, try to compress space in the opposite half and try to press aggressively and win it back when we lose the ball. We’re playing narrow and relying on fullbacks for width. Every coach has their own tweaks to it, but the Redbull organization hires coaches that believe in this, and Lesesne appears to be one
All that said, I appreciate that we’re still playing a sort of 4-2-3-1 and that there can be an element of possession and control.
Pirani is having probably his best game of 2024, and is still pretty… could be better.
It hurts a bit that he’s not more of a dynamic individual threat, you sorta need that to make the 10 position work. I also don’t know if he’ll ever deliver the way we’d like.
Yeah, I don’t know if he’ll ever actually be a 10. But he hasn’t been particularly good wide left either, and I’m not sure if he can be a box to box guy. If he can just keep possession and combine, I think he can be valuable. We’ll see if he grows.
Thing is, it’s tough to combine and pass if you’re not drawing players yourself, cuz no one fears you
Well, disappointing so far based on where we started. Benteke had a very clear chance that he should have converted, but overall our shape out of possession needs work:
I was hoping United would have a two goal lead at halftime to try and weather Miami’s ability to bring Suarez and Alba off the bench. They started brightly, but have been just kind of hanging on for dear life the second part of that half.
Yes, a two goal lead would have really helped to nullify the effect of bringing Suarez in off the bench.
DC’s biggest problem this year is converting their chances, making better shots when they have opportunities.
Unfortunately, it’s a symptom of the freneticism of the style of play. Leeds under Jesse Marsch ended up being unable to have any composure in the box, which is why he was fired. Not saying Lesesne is a one for one there, but when the style is all about quick turnovers in crowded spaces, it can be difficult to have that moment of composure to covert
We’re spurning chances
Suarez coming in. What a biting threat he provides.
You certainly got to the root of the matter.
Pirani off, Fletcher on
If Pirani had played like this starting in Game 1, I’d be a lot less upset with him. Maybe the whole “missing preseason” thing really did have an effect. Hopefully Fletcher can do something here.
Piano didn’t pass my eye test. Makes me sad.
I don’t think I realized that Fletcher had a British passport.
That was a surprise. If he plays well enough here, he’s gone, for sure
This game has become suicide sprints
Again, I hate complaining about the refs, but this guy is atrocious.
Horrible
Welp, that’s unlikely to be ruled a handball. Goal Miami.
Obviously DC won’t get that PK either. 2 CLEAR pks not given. Idiotic. MLS and PRO should be ashamed.
MLS (Garber)is not ashamed. They got what they wanted. A Miami win with a stadium full of shirt-buying losers.
In 2020, Pizarro scored, but then VAR called it back and gave DC a penalty instead. Can history repeat?
Nope.
Pay the refs.
I think they would have been much more interested if that was Bartlett
Garber must be giggling like a school girl as he watches from his office.
Darth Garber is pleased
Kind of surprised that Santos or Herrera aren’t taking these corners. Klich’s haven’t been that good today.
Stroud off, Rodriguez sighting
McVey, Herrera, Peltola, and Klich all on yellows. This could get grim
Herrera’s looking gassed, too.
I believe we’ve used our sub opportunities, too
Yup. Just three players, but also, who else would we really bring on?
You know…Miami has the players to win without the ref’s blatant sympathy, but it must be a nice fall-back.
See it for what it is. Dallas Cowboys of soccer. Miami must win. The refs are integral to that achievement. Darth Garber is pleased.
It’s a shame, because even without Messi Miami has the better team so losing to them would t feel that bad. But two big calls by a replacement ref are what’s going to decide this game. It’s made worse by the fact that he didn’t even bother to go to the monitor for either of them.
Well, fuck us.
That one is all on Klich
If only he was wearing pink and fell it would’ve been called back.
Yeah. Our DP farted around gave the ball up. Their DP chipped our keeper.
(I think Suarez is a DP. Maybe he isn’t. Who the fuck knows with Miami.)
Miami and Suarez are special friends
The announcers are also really excited about Miami having success.
Darth Garber is pleased
The worst part about this is that the league won’t talk about the refereeing. They will just say “LOOK AT WHAT MIAMI DID. OOOMMMGGGG 3-1 WOOOOOOOOOO”
It is absolutely the playbook. Miami must win. MLS wants its flagship. Galaxy 2.0. Lather rinse repeat. We’ve seen this kind o clown show before. The league is corrupt.
Welp, Santos gets red, and I don’t think it’s a bad call, just a really slow player
Pedro Santos doing defensive things. So now our left back for the next game is… a forgiven Jeahze?
If it’s not, it’s cuz Jeahze is an unforgivable lockerroom cancer that no one is talking about
Why is DC the only team I’ve ever seen get a DOGSO red at midfield? Twice in recent memory.
Definitely not a red. Way too far up the field and McVey was right there.
But Santos needs to stop keeping people onside.
These refs had to have been paid off by Miami. I’ve gotten so over them I can’t even enjoy this game anymore. And the first half was one of the most exciting games I’ve seen.
Darth Garber ignores your complaints.
The first half was delicious. I agree
This game should be a lot more competitive, but this ref was having none of that. I think a lot of our players stopped really going for the win because of it
Hard to blame them. Miami flopping like fish. One clear pk not given. After the second what else are you supposed to do?
I’m certainly not blaming them. Even the yellow card situation to most of our tacklers has a massive trickle down effect
Agreed. This is a mulligan for me. STL won’t be fun. Santos suspended, Peltola, Herrera, and Fletcher away for int’l duty. Might as well send Loudoun.
I think Akinmboni will be away also, and Garrison Tubbs and Birnbaum are still injured. They won’t have any additional center backs, unless they recall Hayden Sargis.
Crazy that MLS is playing league matches in this break. They could maybe play USOC games?