Inter Miami Win 3-2 Thriller Over Chicago Fire

After not having won a home match in eight attempts to begin the season, Inter Miami CF has been on a roll lately at DRV PNK Stadium.

For the third time in a row at home, the Herons have come from behind and scored two goals in the second half to take the lead and ultimately win the match vs. their opponents. 2-1 against CF Montreal, 2-1 against Nashville SC, and a 3-2 thriller against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night.

This season, Rodolfo Pizarro has made headline after headline with Inter Miami and has mostly been negative. After a winning goal in stoppage time as a substitute, the headlines will differ following the victory.

“I think if I could have picked anyone to score the winner tonight, it would’ve been [Pizarro],” – Inter Miami CF Manager Phil Neville.

Pizarro found the back of the net for Inter Miami’s third and winning goal of the match following a pass from Victor Ulloa, who was fed by Gonzalo Higuain. Pizarro found the bottom of the far corner, beating the keeper on a beautiful shot, and the scenes were so intense he may have just lost his hair tie.

Miami had taken the lead in the first half after Indiana Vassilev scored a rebound goal following a Robbie Robinson shot in the 34th minute. Right place, right time for Vassilev, who instructed the entire move from the beginning. He egged on Lewis Morgan to take some space from their own third after receiving the ball, and Morgan ended up finding Higuain in the middle of the field, which led to a wide-open Robinson on the left side. Higuain connected with Robinson, which led to the shot that led to the initial save. Vassilev was there to put it in.

Just six minutes later, Miami conceded and went into half-time all square with Chicago following a corner kick. Goalkeeper Nick Marsman was beaten on his near post after Francisco Calvo, unmarked, connected with Luka Stojanovic’s cross by a header. A deflating moment, and it got the better of Inter Miami following the second-half whistle.

After a cross from Stanislav Ivanov, Inter Miami conceded just three minutes into the second half to Chicago’s first-half assist man, Stojanovic, found him virtually unmarked and got a shot off from around the penalty spot. At that moment, Miami had to come from behind for a win yet again.

And that they did. Gonzalo Higuain, who arguably had his best performance of the year, set up Robinson in the 62nd minute for his only direct assist in the match. Higuain from the end-line found Robinson in the box, alone in front of Chicago’s keeper, who blasted it right past him into the top of the net.

As the game was level, it was evident that Chicago looked to bunker in, waste time, and see out the draw. Some substitutions from Inter Miami led to a far from the ideal result for the Fire, however.

Neville switched from a 3-4-3 (or 5-2-3, however you want to see it) to a 5-2-1-2 right before the Robinson goal. Robinson played up as a second striker next to Higuain, and Vassilev drifted in behind to play as a number ten.

Robinson scored the goal, and directly after, Pizarro and Brek Shea came on for Kieran Gibbs and Vassilev. Pizarro slotted straight into the ten spot while Shea took over for Gibbs as a left wing-back. (Both Gibbs and Vassilev were late transfers, still looking to get fully match fit. Neither of them has played a full match all season.)

After about 30 minutes of chippy, aggressive play from both sides, Higuain dropped deep, found Ulloa at the top of the box, who then found Pizarro for the winner.

Every goal had a significant involvement from Gonzalo Higuain in this match, which surely won’t go unnoticed. Although he didn’t get on the scoresheet, Higuain’s play led to every goal Miami scored on the night.

“His quality on the ball sets him apart from most players in the league,” Neville stated.

Inter Miami CF has lost only one match in their last six, dating back to July 25th. Their previous six-game stretch resulted in six straight losses, one of those being to Wednesday night’s opponent, the Chicago Fire.

In what’s been quite the turnaround for the club, confidence and togetherness seem to be looming large, and they’ll need that to find a steady run of form like they had before the New York City FC loss.

Miami takes on Toronto FC on Saturday night, again at DRV PNK Stadium. The Herons will look to make it four wins in a row at home as they push in the latter half of the season to make the playoffs.