Inter Miami looks to stay in playoff hunt
Inter Miami looking to stay in playoff hunt against FC Dallas
For Inter Miami CF, their latest victory against Orlando City SC was relieving.
The team’s 2-1 win against its in-state rival lifted Inter Miami above the playoff cutoff line in the Eastern Conference standings for the first time in their inaugural season.
But Inter Miami know they can’t become lax entering Wednesday’s matchup against FC Dallas (6-5-7, 25 points) at Toyota Stadium.
Especially since they haven’t officially clinched a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs, and there are multiple teams behind them in the East within striking distance in the standings.
“There’s definitely a sense of relief,” Inter Miami defender Dylan Nealis said entering Wednesday’s game, “but I don’t think we’re taking it like that because we can’t get too comfortable. Teams could easily still jump us.”
Three teams behind Inter Miami (6-11-3, 21 points) in the East are within three points of them: 11th-place Chicago Fire FC (5-6-8, 21 points), 12th-place Atlanta United FC (5-11-4, 19 points) and 13th-place D.C. United (4-106, 18 points).
The top-10 teams in the 14-team conference quality for the playoffs.
Inter Miami are currently winning the tiebreaker against the Chicago Fire since they have more wins, but Chicago has four more games left in the season compared to Miami’s three.
Inter Miami aren’t regularly checking the standings to see how they compare with other teams, with coach Diego Alonso keeping the focus solely on how his team performs in their final games of the regular season rather than the results of other team’s matches.
“There’s no other thing on our minds than qualifying for the playoffs,” he said. “All of our energy is in playing well and doing things well to be able to qualify. We’re not thinking about other factors and everything else that’s happened this year. We’re simply working to reach our goals.”
Nealis said it’ll be important for Inter Miami to be consistent during the last week-anda-half of the regular season, with matchups against Toronto FC (12-3-5, 41 points; No. 2 in the East) and FC Cincinnati (4-12-4, 16 points; No. 14 in the East) awaiting them after playing FC Dallas.
Inter Miami have won consecutive matches once this season, with their longest unbeaten streak at three games.
“We’ve struggled this year with playing two games back-to-back,” the rookie defender said. “How can we minimize mistakes and punish them on theirs?”
Gonzalo Higuain will return to Inter Miami’s lineup in Wednesday’s game against Dallas after serving a one-game red card suspension versus Orlando City.
The Inter Miami-FC Dallas matchup will be the first time the two teams play each other.
“We played Orlando four times and Atlanta four times — it’s good to face someone else for a change,” Nealis said. “They definitely play better at home and we’re preparing for war out there. It’s like a playoff game. The playoffs have really started for us. We’re treating it like a final.”
Although FC Dallas has struggled in the past month — only winning one of their past seven games — they’re still one of the better teams in the West and are No. 6 in the standings in their conference.
“In Dallas, I see a team I like,” Alonso said. “They’re a complete team in the way they attack and defend. I like the style of play they have and we know it’ll be a difficult game.”