Matuidi makes debut in another scoreless tie
3rd straight match without scoring
FORT LAUDERDALE — Blaise Matuidi’s impact was felt during his Inter Miami CF debut — an 80-minute rain-delayed 0-0 draw with Nashville SC Sunday at Inter Miami CF Stadium.
Matuidi displayed the skillset that’s made him a world-renowned midfielder and immediately helped Inter Miami’s attack despite the team having its third consecutive scoreless showing.
He consistently made himself available for passes all over the field and played 79 minutes despite very limited practice time and appearing in his first game in nearly a month.
Matuidi, who became the 12th World Cup winner to appear in a Major League Soccer match, said he expected to play closer to 60 minutes but decided, along with Inter Miami coach Diego Alonso, to push himself a little further.
“Obviously, I’m a bit tired,” Matuidi said. “It has been a while since I played an official game and I only had two official team training sessions.
“Nonetheless, I’m happy about the overall game. Not the result the team was hoping for, but we’ll keep working on this.
“It will take a bit of time but it’s up to me to give my all and make sure I can get ready off the field to give my 100%.”
Matuidi helped build the attack in one of Inter Miami’s best offensive sequences of the match, delivering a pass to Juan Agudelo, who got the ball out to Ben Sweat in the left flank. Sweat passed the ball to the center of the box for Rodolfo Pizarro, who had one of the best shot opportunities of the game in the 8th minute but missed the top right corner.
The former Juventus midfielder delivered another good pass in the 71st minute to the center of the box to the head of Robbie Robinson, who directed the ball toward Nashville’s goal but Joe Willis made the save.
“He did a great job and had a great game despite the fact that he only had a few training sessions with the team,” Alonso said about Matuidi’s debut. “He really showed his quality and intelligence. With time, he’s going to be able to adapt, and surely help us take a step forward and grow.”
After struggling to put together strong attacking sequences against Nashville last week, Inter Miami looked like a rejuvenated team offensively in the second home match of their inaugural MLS season.
Julian Carranza had a solid look on goal in the second minute, but his shot was wide right of
Nashville’s goal.
Lewis Morgan served a cross in the 20th minute for Carranza, who whiffed on the shot. Agudelo recovered the ball on the left-wing and crossed the ball into the center of the box for Pizarro, who missed the shot to the left of Nashville’s goal.
Robinson’s header in the 71st minute was Inter Miami’s last quality scoring opportunity of the game. Even though Nashville finished with more shots (16-13), Inter Miami created better scoring chances — they just didn’t put the ball into the net, which has been a season-long struggle.
“Without a doubt, not being able to score a goal is an important factor that’s affecting us,” Alonso said. “Not only in the result, but it affected us in our confidence.”
Inter Miami has gone scoreless in five of their nine matches of their inaugural
season. They’re reportedly in negotiations and are nearing a deal for Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuain.
When asked if the goalscoring struggles make it more important for the team to sign a striker, Alonso replied, “unfortunately, I’m not able to tell you the name or position of the player we’re trying to get.”
Although they were unlucky to not score a goal — and probably should’ve finished with at least two — Inter Miami (1-6-2) were fortunate to walk away with their fifth point of the season.
Nashville (2-4-3) had a few quality scoring chances themselves. Walker Zimmerman headed a pass in the 24th minute to Dominique Badji, who had a leftfooted shot on goal from the center of the goal. Luis Robles made the save and Nico Figal finished the sequence
with a clearance.
Robles made another crucial save in the 46th minute when he stopped Hany Mukhtar’s shot from the left side of the box.
Daniel Lovitz looked like he was going to clinch three points for Nashville in the waning minutes of the game. Lovitz had a wideopen shot on the goal from inside the box in the 80th minute, but he directed the scoring opportunity to the right of Inter Miami’s goal to secure the draw.
Inter Miami altered their starting lineup for the second consecutive match. Robles was the goalkeeper with the usual backline of Sweat, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Andres Reyes and Figal. Matuidi played above Victor Ulloa in the defensive midfield. Agudelo —a forward — started on the left-wing, Pizarro played centrally, Morgan started on the right-wing and Carranza was the starting forward.
Robinson (53rd minute), Wil Trapp (70th minute), Brek Shea (70th minute), Jay Chapman (79th minute) and Dylan Nealis (79th) minute were Inter Miami’s five substitutes for the game.
Designated player Matias Pellegrini wasn’t on the team’s game-day roster for the first time this season after playing nine minutes as a substitute against Atlanta United FC Wednesday.
“Matias wasn’t available today,” Alonso said, “and that’s why he wasn’t on the roster sheet.”
Inter Miami will return to Inter Miami CF Stadium Wednesday for a match versus Atlanta United.