Lionel Messi tallied a goal and an assist in the first half as the Portland Timbers fell 2-0 on the road to Inter Miami CF. The Timbers had no answer for the magic of Messi, and were it not for the continued heroics of James Pantemis the match would have been much more of a blowout for the home side.
The loss kept Portland in 12th place in the Western Conference, but falling further below the playoff line with one game remaining before the World Cup break.
Prematch & Lineup
The narratives were abound as Portland came to Miami's new home at, uh, Nu Stadium. Of course it was the first time the Timbers played Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest soccer player we have ever seen. It was also a homecoming of sorts for Phil Neville, who coached in Miami for two-and-a-half years right before Messi came to town, and Kamal Miller, who won the Leagues Cup in Miami in 2023.
Underscoring all of that was the precipitous cliff upon which Neville's time at the helm of the Timbers seemed to be teetering. The Timbers entered the match on 14 points through 12 games, having yet to show any kind of consistency this season. With just one match after this one before the World Cup break, it felt like time was almost up on Neville's tumultuous tenure as Timbers head coach.
For his return to Miami, Phil made two changes to his starting XI from the midweek draw in Montreal. With Jose Caicedo out due to the groin injury he suffered on Wednesday, Diego Chara entered next to Cole Bassett. Antony came into the forward line for Alexander Aravena.
There was an argument that Joao Ortiz, who had been in form, should get the nod in midfield, or for Aravena to retain his starting spot. But alas, it was the comfort blankets of Chara and Antony who started the match. Curiously, the supposedly fully healthy Juan Mosquera still apparently couldn't break into the starting XI, despite the match being Portland's third match in a week.
Highlights & Recap
The match on paper was easy to read: one side had multiple world cup winners, international stars, and the GOAT on the field. The other... didn't. And the disparity in pedigree was clear early on
4' Save POR – Pantemis
With his first effort on the ball, Lionel Messi did Lionel Messi things and dribbled through all of Portland's defense like they were just green traffic cones. He laid the ball off to his friend Luis Suarez, who under zero pressure, lifted the ball over the top for an onrushing Messi. James Pantemis made an excellent reaction save to block Messi's effort on the doorstep.
For all of the hubub about Messi & Friends, it's important to point out that Miami has yet win a match in their new stadium, Nu Stadium. Their main weakness has been their defense, which Portland was able to test early on.
10' Shot POR – Bassett
A decent passing move from Portland saw the ball come to Cole Bassett at the top of Mimai's box. Coming off of a goal on Wednesday, Bassett tried his luck with a curler that Dayne St. Clair could only push away.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Portland's chances in Mimai would have been deader than alligator bait without the play of James Pantemis in goal. He first made an incredible kick save on Luis Suarez from a tight angle in the 15th minute, and then did very well to rush off his line and slap away an effort from Ian Fray loose on the break in the 19th.
That stretch was symbolic for the rhythm the match settled into. Mimai controlled the majority of possession, with attacks coming outside and in as the hosts sought out the golden feet of Messi. Portland could only find attacks the counter, which looked somewhat dangerous at times. Poor decision making in the final third – an issue that should surprise no one reading this – doomed any of those attacking sequences from generating shots or goals.
Still, you would be forgiven if you were mildly encouraged by Portland's performance. They were keeping Miami out of the back of the net, keeping the hosts honest with some decent looking counter attacks, and keeping hopes alive for a result.
But you can only keep the GOAT out for so long.
31' Goal MIA – Messi (1-0)
Lionel Messi laid the ball off for Suraez, who played in Telasco Segovia, who then in turned flicked the ball behind him. Messi had continued his run into the box, and Diego Chara failed to track him. The Aregntine great collected the ball, and deftly finished past Pantemis, who couldn't save the Timbers this time, to open the scoring.
It truly was all too easy for the hosts, as Portland's defense failed to put up any kind of true pressure or resistance to stop Miami's free passing of the ball. It was tough to watch Chara fail to track Messi, but the multiple Ballon D'Or winner has been making that same type of run for decades and made his entire career off of it. And so the Portland Timbers became the latest team for Lionel Messi to score against.
38' Shot POR – Antony
Portland tried to answer back, and Kristoffer Velde and Antony got on their horses and tried to hit Miami on the break. Velde played in a narrow ball for Antony who managed to get a shot off, but it was blocked by the sliding Micael.
It was a good effort for the visitors, but it would be one they would come to rue all the more when the boys in pink came at them again.
42' Goal MIA – Berterame (2-0)
Velde gave the ball away via a poor pass at the top of Miami's box, and the Herons came right back the other way. Messi collected the ball at top of the box, and if you've watched enough soccer over the years you knew what was coming next. The boy from Rosario dribbled thorough Portland's defense like a scalding hot knife through lukewarm butter, and laid the ball of for German Berterame. The one-time Timbers transfer target made no mistake as his finished from point-blank range, doubling the advantage for the hosts.
The Timbers gave it their best shot in the first half hour of the game, and did an admirable job of keeping the scoreline level – in no small part things to James Pantemis. But their attacks never looked cohesive enough for me to buy into them having a real chance in this one, and I knew that the superhuman quality of Messi would shine through before long.
And so was the story of the first half, as Portland lacked the execution in the offense to score and the dynamism in the defense to keep Miami from scoring.
HALFTIME: Miami 2, Timbers 0
Chasing the game and needing to get back into affairs quickly, the Timbers made one halftime sub as Joao Ortiz came on for Diego Chara in the midfield.
Knowing that the only way to have a chance to win the game was to fulfill Phil Neville's claim that they "need to score three goals", the Timbers set about trying to turn Miami's ball dominant tendencies against them. Committing to playing on the counter attack, the Timbers actually showed a few signs of life in the second half.
Both came by way of their Norwegian firebrand.
54' Shot POR – Velde
A very excellent bit of work from Ortiz to counter press and win back the ball led to Kevin Kelsy laying off the ball for Velde at the top of the box. Kristoffer leaned back a bit too much as he fired his shot over the bar, but it was the first actual promising bit of attacking play from the Timbers in the match.
57' Shot POR – Velde
Velde did his best impression of Messi as he slalomed into Miami's box and smacked a shot into the gloves of St. Clair. The chance came out of Portland passing around Miami's passive defending, as the hosts seemed to rock back on their heels in the second half with their two-goal lead.
It really seemed like if Portland was going to pull anything back in the game, it would come from the foot of Velde. Apparently Velde himself took that to heart, as about five minutes after his shot in the 57th minute Velde passed up easy lay offs for both Da Costa and Antony on the doorstep in an attempt to walk the ball in on his own. His shot was blocked, and the flag came up for offside anyway.
The play was emblematic of Velde's brilliance and madness, and also of Portland's efforts in the first part of the second half. They came close to making some real danger, but couldn't punch through.
67' SUB POR – OFF: K. Miller // ON: Ian Smith
In a shift of formation, Ian Smith replaced Kamal Miller. Jimer Fory shifted to a centerback in a back three, and Smith and Brandon Bye became attacking wingbacks as Neville seemingly sought to try to through all the runners he could at the Miami backline.
74' SUB POR – OFF: Da Costa // ON: Alexander Aravena
One more sub from Portland saw them refresh legs in the middle of the park. It was a sensible sub with Da Costa sitting on a yellow card, but it started to feel like too little, too late as the time ticked onwards for the Timbers.
77' Shot POR – Velde
Velde had yet another chance to score, as he collected the ball and drove into the middle of the box. Just like before, Velde dribbled two or three times too many and didn't get his shot off in time. He didn't have the offside flag to save him blushes this time, either.
79' Shot POR – Kelsy
The Timbers last real shot to pull a goal back came via the head of Kevin Kelsy, who powered a strong header on frame – but right at St. Clair. For as sputtering as the rest of Portland's attack proved to be, Kelsy put in yet another shift at striker. The young striker appears to finally be coming into his own and claiming the starting spot for Portland.
Despite the past few highlights I've written all being shooting opportunities for the Timbers, you may (or may not) be surprised to learn that Portland didn't actually come close to scoring. The Timbers only managed 0.34 expected goals on seven shots (three on target) in the second half. There were moments, flashes, as there has been all season, of Portland coming close to making something happen. But ultimately, the quality and the execution simply wasn't there.
86' Subs POR – OFF: Kelsy, Antony // ON: Gage Guerra, Juan Mosquera
A cameo from Gage Guerra marked his first appearance since May 2, and just his second appearance since March 14. Juan Mosquera made just his second appearance for Portland this season, and his first since April 4.
As the match ticked into second half stoppage time, the result really felt secured for Miami. Portland huffed and puffed, but didn't even come close to blowing the Herons' new home down.
All that was left to see was if Lionel Messi had one last incredible act up his sleeve. But it turned out the one that would have the last moment of magic was not the forward from Rosario, but the goalkeeper from Quebec.
90'+5 SAVE POR – Pantemis
After Portland conceded a foul in their own defensive third, Lionel Messi stepped up to the ball. The iPhones came out for all of the fans in attendance, as they hope they were about the witness Messi curl the free kick into the goal to cap a victory. Messi did go for the top corner, but James "I am the only good thing about the Timbers right now" Pantemis came flying in to make a world-class save and push the ball away.
I cannot emphasize enough how incredible the save was, especially when you consider how a goal would have made zero difference for the result. It was purely out of pride that Pants made the save, and it cemented his impact and importance to this season just barely clinging to the rails for the Timbers.
A great moment in an otherwise apathetic game as Portland fell to defeat.
FULL TIME: Miami 2, Timbers 0
It never really did feel like Portland stood a chance in this one. Despite the early close chances, despite the early incredible saves from Pantemis, despite the fact that the game was still scoreless by the 30th minute, it was difficult to bring myself to truly believe.
And that is because this team hasn't given me much to believe in. They have followed up positive performances with disappointing ones, and have never reached consistency at really any level of the field. And so even when Velde was banging shots away or Portland was attacking at pace, I never bought that this could be a salvageable result for the Timbers.
A grueling three-match week that felt tenure-defining for Phil Neville ends in four points, and while that might look decent on paper, it's not enough for a Portland team that is sinking further away from the playoff line. That's especially true when you consider the sluggish and lackluster response from Portland today, where they could only get four shots on target despite trailing for over an hour.
At time of publishing, we don't know if this match was it for the Phil Neville era of the Portland Timbers. But even if it's not, it felt like the strongest data point yet that that era has reached a point of being untenable. With one game left before the World Cup break, all signs feel like they're pointing back to the drawing board for a team that still hasn't found its way out of the wilderness.
