LAFC have a 1-0 advantage from the first leg
Inter Miami face elimination from the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals in Wednesday’s second leg, which offers a chance to reverse course after losing the first leg to LAFC last week.
The good news for Inter Miami is that the margin of defeat in Los Angeles was a narrow one – LAFC notched a 1-0 win last week thanks to a goal from Nathan Ordaz in the 57th minute. The defeat was Miami’s first of the season, though they extended their winless run to two games after a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC on Sunday. They were only able to pick up one point despite head coach Javier Mascherano’s choice not to rotate through his team, opting to play Lionel Messi for all 90 minutes twice in the last week.
LAFC, meanwhile, target a major result that would liven up the otherwise average start to their season. They have lost four of their seven games to start the MLS season and rank ninth in the Western Conference, though head coach Steve Cherundolo has clearly prioritized the CCC at times. That approach included rotating through his squad for Saturday’s game at the Houston Dynamo, when Chrundolo made a handful of changes to his lineup and went on to lose 1-0.
Ahead of a consequential week in North America’s top club competition, here’s what you need to know.
How to watch Inter Miami vs. LAFC, odds
- Date: Wednesday, April 9 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Chase Stadium — Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- TV: Fox Sports 1 | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Inter Miami -200; Draw +340; LAFC +410
Last meeting
Just last week, LAFC got the better of Inter Miami in a 1-0 game, though it was more than the result that favored the 2023 CCC finalists. Though Miami won the possession battle, LAFC managed to outshoot Miami 15 to 10 and managed four shots on target to the visitors’ three. Ordaz scored the game’s lone goal just before the hour mark thanks to an impressive strike, doing just enough damage to give LAFC a crucial advantage heading into the second leg.
What Inter Miami are saying
The last week has not been kind to Inter Miami, whose impressive start to the season has come to a halt after failing to win their last two games. The draw against Toronto forced some introspection from Maschearno, who said he is determined to learn from the less-than-ideal results from the last few days.
“Futbol is not a button you can push to connect, push to disconnect and then push to connect again,” Mascherano said after Sunday’s draw, per the Miami Herald. “It doesn’t work that way. If we don’t understand that, we will suffer the way we suffered [Sunday night]. If we are not connected from start to finish on Wednesday, it will be very difficult.”
He defended his decision not to rotate through his team, stating that his preferred tactic to move on from Wednesday’s loss was to immediately follow it up with a win. That victory did not come, though, and now there are real questions about the fitness of his aging stars like Messi and Luis Suarez for the second leg of the CCC quarterfinals.
“As far as roster rotation, we spoke to the [four aforementioned] players and these are elite players who have played every three days their entire lives, they are used to it and we felt we had to make changes in other positions,” the coach said. “I understand sometimes people can be surprised, but I had said in my pre-game press conference that we would not overlook this game.”
Mascherano had the knockout game top of mind, especially as it pertained to scheduling.
“It’s a 24-hour difference and we are both playing in the same competition,” he said. “I find that strange. Why do they have 24 hours more rest than we do?”
Predicted lineups
Inter Miami: Oscar Ustari, Gonzalo Lujan, Maximiliano Falcon, Noah Allen, Jordi Alba, Fafa Picault, Yannick Bright, Sergio Busquets, Telasco Segovia, Lionel Messi, Luis Sarez
LAFC: Hugo Lloris, Sergi Palencia, Aaron Long, Eddie Segura, Ryan Hollingshead, Timothy Tillman, Igor Jesus, Marco Delgado, Cengiz Under, Nathan Ordaz, Denis Bouanga
Player to watch
Hugo Lloris, LAFC: Considering the stakes, it is fair to expect that Inter Miami will put their full attacking might into Wednesday’s game, especially as Messi’s strong start to the season includes six goals and two assists in nine games. That type of performance will require an equal response from LAFC, which is where Hugo Lloris comes in.
The 38-year-old has famously battled Messi before and most notably in the last two World Cups, with Lloris’ France ousting Messi’s Argentina in the round of 16 in 2018 en route to the trophy and Messi’s side winning their 2022 World Cup in a dramatic final against Lloris’ group. Lloris has three wins and two draws in seven meetings with Messi, the victories generally coming in games in which the Argentine does not score. If LAFC and Lloris can keep Messi at bay for another game, that might just be enough to pull off the upset but it will likely require some major saves from Lloris that match the caliber of Messi’s world class shot taking ability.
Storyline to watch
Can Inter Miami turn things around?: This tie may currently tilt in LAFC’s favor, but there’s no reason to write off Inter Miami just yet. It will be up to the hosts, though, to reverse course. This marks the first meaningful test for Mascherano since he took over as the Miami head coach ahead of the 2025 season and it will be fascinating to discover what his preferences are as a coach in a must-win game. He has done well to manage the minutes of his talented but aging stars but his choice to log as many minutes as possible in the hopes of building a winning streak is a bold one – it might be enough to ensure Miami reach the CCC semifinals for the first time in the club’s history, but only time will tell.
Prediction
Both teams will put all they can into this game, so expect a closely-contested match with a spot in the semifinals on the line. Shutting out Miami twice might be a tall task for LAFC, but the competitive nature that this game seems destined to boast could see these two go to extra time and a dreaded penalty shootout, in which all bets are off. Who’s on the field for Miami is just as much of a guessing game as who wins in a shootout, but the hosts just might be able to pull this off even in those circumstances. Pick: Inter Miami 1, LAFC 0; Inter Miami win 4-3 on penalties
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