Even without Lionel Messi in the lineup, Inter Miami CF are back in the driver's seat for the Supporters' Shield.
A 3-1 win over Toronto FC on Wednesday night, coupled with FC Cincinnati's 1-0 loss to Chicago Fire FC, saw the Herons end the night on 50 points. That leaves them two points clear of their Queen City foes to retake the top spot atop the overall MLS standings.
Messi, recovering from an injury suffered during Argentina's 1-0 win over Colombia in Sunday's Copa America final, looked on as two of Miami's youngsters delivered: Diego Gómez with a 43rd-minute opener and Federico Redondo, who assisted on the first goal of the night while adding a second-half brace (53', 59') to put the game away.
"Every team [loses their] most important players sometime or another," Miami head coach Tata Martino said through a translator after the match. "[Those] who are going to have to play [in place of them] are going to have to [say] 'I have to be the one who performs,' and that's what they've done."
Both Gómez and Redondo are headed to the 2024 Summer Olympics in France: Gómez as Paraguay's captain and Redondo as part of the Argentina squad. And their performances contributed to a familiar theme in 2024: Miami continue to win, even when the likes of Messi, Luis Suárez and Sergio Busquets are unavailable.
Youth movement
Martino opted not to "speculate" on the status of Messi, who departed La Albiceleste's victory on Sunday 20 miles south of Fort Lauderdale at Hard Rock Stadium with an ankle injury and was shown in tears on the bench in potentially his final major international tournament appearance. Miami were also without Suárez, a second-half substitute on Wednesday, for an extended period as he was part of Uruguay's Copa América side.
That's opened the door for younger players such as Gómez and Redondo, both 21, to fill the void. Gómez now has 3g/6a through 12 league matches (10 starts), while Redondo opened his MLS account in style to add to his three assists in eight appearances.
Miami have also received contributions from U.S. Olympic team member Benjamin Cremaschi (3g/3a through 14 matches) and fellow homegrown Ian Fray, among others.
"They've understood that this month, a little bit more, that they were going to have to play a lot of games also," Martino said of his young players. "And that has been very beneficial because it has made us grow."
