Emil Forsberg came off the bench to score in stoppage time as New York Red Bulls beat Inter Miami 2-0 at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday, on a night when Lionel Messi's second-half cameo could not rescue the visitors.
Miami arrived in Harrison in ominous form, having won their previous three matches this month by a combined 9-1, but an early own goal changed the mood of the evening and the Red Bulls defended their lead with real discipline. As theScore reported, the win keeps New York above the Eastern Conference playoff line on a weekend when they could not afford to slip.
Casimiro own goal sets the tone
The Red Bulls began the day clinging to ninth place, the final postseason spot in the East, but they were ahead inside seven minutes. Midfielder Carlos Casimiro turned the ball into his own net to give the hosts a lead they spent the rest of the night protecting.
What followed was not a backs-to-the-wall siege. New York managed only 37.5 percent of possession yet still produced 18 shot attempts, repeatedly breaking into space behind Miami's defence. Ethan Horvath finished with two saves and his fifth clean sheet of the season, and Miami goalkeeper Dayne St Clair was by far the busier of the two keepers.
Messi arrives, but the moment belongs to Forsberg
Messi did not start after flying to Spain on Friday to accept the Princess of Asturias Award for Sport, and Miami kept their captain in reserve until the 56th minute, when he replaced Riquelme Fillipi. It did not tilt the game. Horvath did not face a single shot from Messi, his best moment a kick save from a Sergio Reguilon header off a Messi pass in the 83rd minute.
Then came the finish. Forsberg, introduced only in the 85th minute, settled it in the first minute of stoppage time: Cameron Harper advanced down the right and found him unmarked, and the Swede lifted a right-footed shot over St Clair from the centre of the box. It was Forsberg's fourth goal of the season, his first since August 15, with Harper collecting his second assist and Ronald Donkor his career-high 10th, as TSN detailed.
For Messi, the blank was a rarity in a season of 25 league goals — five more than anyone else entering play — and 15 assists, a tally level with LAFC's Son Heung-min at the top of the league. Only last week he was scoring twice against Atlanta, and his emotional Argentina farewell showed how much football he is carrying into this playoff run. Even the greatest player of his generation cannot win every game from the bench in half an hour.
So what does it mean?
The result snaps a miserable recent history in this fixture for New York: Miami had gone 3-0-1 in the previous four meetings, outscoring the Red Bulls 17-6. Instead, the hosts bounce back from consecutive defeats to move to 11-14-6 and 39 points, up to eighth in the East, while Miami (15-6-10) slip to 4-2-4 across their last ten games.
With Nashville SC clinching the Supporters' Shield earlier on Saturday, Miami's regular season is now purely about playoff seeding and arriving healthy — which is precisely why Messi's minutes are being managed. Both sides play again on Wednesday: Miami host FC Cincinnati, while the Red Bulls travel to the New England Revolution knowing one more win would tighten their grip on a postseason place.
Beyond the Final Whistle: this is the result the Red Bulls' season needed and the one Miami can most afford. New York proved they can beat the league's glamour side without the ball, without fear and without needing Messi to have an off night — they forced one. For Miami, the warning is real but manageable: rest your king too long in a tight game and even a cameo of genius may come too late.
Did the Red Bulls just prove the blueprint for beating Inter Miami in the playoffs, or was this simply a night when Messi's limited minutes made all the difference? Let us know what you think in the comments.
