After a goalless draw with Nashville, Inter Miami are 10 points behind in the Eastern Conference play-offs. Meanwhile, MLS has 10 more rounds to close the scoring.
In theory, it is a big gap, but Gerardo Martino's team is still considered a favorite candidate to win the championship in December.
The biggest reason is that Miami owns Lionel Messi. The 36-year-old has made an incredible breakthrough in form since his debut on July 21. El Pulga led the team to the Leagues Cup and US Open final.
The match against Nashville was Messi's 10th appearance for Miami. Even though he could not score against Nashville, Messi still had 11 goals and 6 assists before that. Messi's effects both on and off the pitch are incredible.
But it is inevitable that there will be a comparison in quality between tournaments in the US and Europe. And the question is, is Messi too excellent or are his opponents not commensurate?
There is an interesting comparison: Nashville goalkeeper Elliot panicco, who thwarted Messi's goalscoring efforts, is receiving a basic salary of $90,000 this year. Meanwhile, Messi's figure is 50-60 million dollars.
This difference shows that the level of players in MLS is not uniform. Although he is 36 years old, Messi's class is still very different in the US. Messi's form is very impressive but the defense of MLS teams is not highly appreciated.
According to Opta's heat map, the way Messi plays at Miami is similar to his final seasons at Barcelona and PSG. He rarely supported the defense and almost did not touch the ball in the first third of the field. He mainly moved between the pitch and the edge of the box.
Only 5% of Messi's touches so far at Miami have been in the box. However, he has scored 11 goals in 35 shots.
Messi dribbled and passed less successfully than at PSG and Barcelona. At the same time, he has also had much fewer touches - an average of 66 per 90 minutes in the first 9 matches at Miami compared to 82 for PSG and 96 for Barcelona. However, the conversion rate to Messi's goals in Miami was higher.
In short, his age and high temperatures in the US have kept Messi less mobile than when he played in Europe. However, the weak defense of MLS teams helps Messi have an impressive scoring efficiency.
Messi's 6 goals for Miami in the penalty area all came in the same position. That shows that the teams' defense in MLS has many positional errors and slow reactions.
More specifically, they cannot judge the situation and even forget Messi. A typical example is Messi's goal against Atlanta United. 3 Miami attack players in the penalty area face 5 defenders but Messi can still finish in an unassisted position.
Messi's surprising transition between walking on the pitch and accelerating seemed to surprise the MLS. It could also be that Messi's movement and thinking speed are simply too much for an MLS defender.
Remember, Messi has reached his current high level of form many times. According to Opta, he has scored or assisted in 9 consecutive matches for the club and the national team 10 times in his career.
And there is still no sign that Messi will decline rapidly. In his final season at Barcelona, he scored 30 goals in 35 La Liga matches. In his final year at Parc des Princes, he scored 16 goals and had 16 assists in 32 Ligue 1 appearances. Less than a year ago, Messi scored 7 goals at the World Cup in Qatar.
And in Miami at the moment, Messi is being led by a coach who knows him very well, Martino. Most importantly, alongside El Pulga are his former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Fatigue with the upcoming national team training sessions may be a problem for Messi. But it would be no surprise if Miami continue straight to the MLS championship this season.
