Player ratings as Robert Taylor shines for the Herons

Inter Miami pulled off a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps without several key and quality players in the side.

The south Florida team went to BC Place looking for three points but were without key players Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets as the three players were rested by head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino.

Vancouver pressed hard opening with several strong chances. The Whitecaps were the better team in the first 10-15 minutes, but failed to capitalize on their strong early chances. Although Messi and Suarez did not make the trip to northwestern Canada, Finnish player Robert Taylor opened the field and put the Herons ahead.

Jordi Alba cut the Vancouver defense open with a simple ball that Taylor connected with, and the veteran cut in with his favored right foot and sent an effort past Yohei Takaoka. It was a good goal all round to give Martino’s side an early start on the road.

Just like the start of the tournament, the Whitecaps came out swinging in the second half and came close to equalizing. Former Nashville SC player Fabrice ‘Fafa’ Picault’s header appeared to deflect off one of Serhiy Kryvtsov’s hands – but there was no VAR review. Moments later, the Herons went forward on offense with Taylor causing another upset.

The 29-year-old turned Mathias Laborda quickly off the line before setting up Leo Campana in front of goal. Campana — who scored the game-winning goal against DC United last week — scored for the second straight game to double Miami’s lead.

Vancouver got a lifeline just before the 70th minute when referee Joe Dickerson went to the VAR monitoring station after Tomas Aviles body-checked Picault in his penalty area. It was a silly challenge on a young defender who was showing no experience at the time — and he may have been lucky not to be shown a second yellow card. Ryan Gauld stepped up and slotted home a penalty from 12 yards out to cut Miami’s lead midway through the second half.

The hosts gave it one last shot in front of their fans, bringing Miami back in the final 10 minutes and stoppage time at BC Place. It wouldn’t be enough, however, as Miami resisted pressure from Vancouver to pick up its 10th win of the 2024 MLS campaign to stay in first place in the Supporters’ Shield race.

GK: Drake Callender – 6/10 – I didn’t have much on the night because of the strong defense from his back line.

RB: Marcelo Weigandt – 7/10 – Combined with his colleagues well up and down the right.

CB: Tomas Aviles – 6/10 – He stepped up to make a great clearance and tackle before his bare body checked Picault in the second half to give away a penalty. He was lucky to stay on the field having already been shown a yellow card before that moment in the game.

CB: Serhiy Kryvtsov – 7/10 – A performance from the centre-back after his mediocre performance last week vs DC United.

LB: Jordi Alba – 7/10 – A very good but slightly frustrating show from Spain. His pass to set up Taylor was good, but he received an early yellow card that could have been avoided and he could have had an assist earlier in the game if he had squared another goal to Rojas.

CM: Julian Gressel – 6/10 – The player did not help or hinder his side.

CM: Yannick Bright – 6/10 – He struggled in the first half in place of Sergio Busquets, which is understandable given the difference in quality between the two.

CM: Benjamin Cremaschi – 7/10 – An excellent night from the young midfielder. Almost everywhere he tracked back to recover on defense and kickstart attacks forward.

RW: Matias Rojas – 6/10 – A quiet night from the Paraguay international who didn’t do much on the right.

ST: Leo Campana – 7/10 – He lifted the ball well at times to help his team rise to the top. He stayed calm and composed his finish from close range to add to Miami’s lead.

LW: Robert Taylor – 9/10 – It caused all kinds of chaos in the left wing. She was direct and not afraid to take her man.

What you are holding

SUB: Federico Redondo (65′ for Benjamin Cremaschi) – 6/10

SUB: David Ruiz (82′ for Matias Rojas) – N/A

SUB: Leo Afonso (88′ for Robert Taylor) – N/A

SUB: Noah Allen (88′ for Julian Gressel) – N/A

The manager

Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino – 8/10 – He handled the game well without his three most important players. Although his own were pressed late, they held on for three points.