Inter Miami said goodbye to their three-match win streak on Saturday afternoon, playing to a 1–1 draw against Toronto FC at BMO Field in the first match following Sergio Busquets’ retirement announcement.
While Miami started a strong lineup headlined by Busquets, Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Rodrigo De Paul, they were unable to finish on an abundance of chances. Toronto’s Sean Johnson stood out with five saves, and four came against Messi.
The Herons broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time through a finish from Tadeo Allende, who headed home a cross from Alba to give the visitors the advantage. Yet, they weren’t able to translate that into further momentum. Toronto’s Đorđe Mihailović leveled the match at 1–1 in the 60th minute.
Miami continued to press late and forced Johnson into a sprawling save on a free-kick from Messi, but were unable to find the winner and had to settle for a point on the road.
With the draw, Miami lost control of their Supporters’ Shield destiny and will need to rely on results from the Philadelphia Union, San Diego FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC to potentially claim back-to-back regular season titles.
Here are three takeaways from the 1–1 draw.
