Luis Suárez’s anger with Martino when he took him out at 0-0 against Orlando

Inter Miami gave a new example of how important it is Lionel Messi for its collective functioning. Without Leo, absent due to the hard kick he suffered last Saturday against CF Montreal, those led by Tata Martino tied the classic 0-0 against Orlando City and remains the leader of the MLS Eastern Conference with one point ahead of FC Cincinnati, which has one less game played.

The numbers are clear: Without Messi, the pink team won only 2 of 13 games -plus 7 draws and 4 losses-, while with the Argentine star on the court he has accumulated 16 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses. That is to say, 65% effective against a poor 33%. Meanwhile, Orlando City has four consecutive games without winning at home and could not take advantage of the Philadelphia Union’s defeat against New York City to snatch its position as playoffs.

Two teams without gunpowder, but not without options to convert. We only had to wait two minutes for the Uruguayan Luis Suárez to intimidate Pedro Gallese, the Peruvian reacted well. It was a first half with arrivals to the area but without success when it came to finishing..

Orlando neglected its defense a lot, just a few breaths after Suárez’s shot, the Argentine Franco Negri appeared completely alone inside the area controlling a ball that he put to the Paraguayan Matías Rojas from the midfield.

With good control he wanted to give the shot to the Finn Robert Taylor, who ran into the only attentive defender of the locals, the Slovenian David Brekalo.

What was news about Inter was their solidity at the start in their defensive line, accustomed lately to starting losing, Orlando’s first attack on the right through the Argentine Martín Ojeda and the North American Duncan McGuire masterfully cut it off with a sweep by Toto Avilés.

In the thirteenth minute the locals tried again, this time with a set piece with an innocent ball, again from McGuire, from below, which everyone let pass and was lost near the near post.

Little by little, Orlando was acquiring more prominence in the match, and it had twenty minutes of gale for Colombian Óscar Pareja’s team, the ball was no longer the visitors’.

Ojeda had the clearest shot after a fantastic combination by Orlando with passes through the central corridor that led to his cross shot and the highly demanded stretch from Drake Callender.

The Las Garzas goalkeeper also scored a goal just after a shot from the Colombian Luis Muriel. It was around the thirty minute mark and Gerardo Martino’s face began to get very serious.

Those who also breathed were the two goalkeepers, Gallese and Callender, who went to the locker room with their goal safe.

The scene did not change much after the break, Orlando dominated and frequently visited the rival area, but with very few units. They were more individual battles by Muriel, Ojeda or McGuire than collective actions, and Inter’s defenders resolved without problems.

Gerardo Martino moved the bench, bringing in Jordi Alba and the Ecuadorian Leo Campana, the latter by a Suárez who was very upset with the change.

But the movements did not influence the activity in the areas, and they did influence a hardening of the duel, the protagonists heated up and the referee Rosendo Mendoza began to throw yellow.

A very clear one from Muriel for the locals and then another generated by Alba that Campana failed to finish. The game became a coin toss that would fall to the side that had a little inspiration when finishing.

The passing of the minutes showed Orlando’s disconnection on the one hand and Miami’s fatigue on the other. This MLS weekday became a small toll on the physical preparation of some teams.

The final point was not all bad for Inter Miami once Orlando City ended the injury time by overturning Callender’s goal. With this tie, Martino’s team remains the sole leader with 28 points and leaves Cincinnati, with its victory against Atlanta, just one away.