NYCFC Edged by Inter Miami on an Afternoon in the Bronx

By Daniel Feuerstein | Bronx, NY | March 22nd, 2026

New York City FC was ready for its next matchup as it came into Week 5 of the MLS Regular Season, currently on a three-game winning streak, and earned points in four consecutive matches at the start of the season. Coming to town was Lionel Messi and his friends from Inter Miami. It was a bit of a back-and-forth matchup, but after the full 90 minutes ended, it would be Inter Miami pulling out the full three points as NYCFC fell to the final score of three goals to two.

Game Recap

An early goal for Inter Miami was earned by getting a corner along the near side as it was delivered toward the net. It was punched out by Matt Freese, but the rebound was collected by Inter Miami at the top of the area. A long shot by Telasco Segovia was blocked, but on the rebound was Gonzalo Lujan. He collected the ball and quickly unleashed a hard shot that got by Freese in the 4th minute.

NYCFC earned an equalizer as Nicolás Fernández was fouled just a few yards away from the Miami area. The free kick was placed by Fernandez, and Maxi Moralez was standing near the ball to see who would take the free kick. It would be Fernández who took a rip and nailed the bottom of the crossbar, bounced straight down on the goal line, and ricocheted inside the top of the net in the 17th minute.

Then, NYCFC took the lead just a minute before the hour mark. They took the ball away from Miami and started to make a move from the center circle. Kevin O’Toole made a quick pass to Moralez, then, as he turned, he laid off a great ball toward Agustín Ojeda, who made a run. As he just gets towards the area, Ojeda unleashes a fantastic shot that beats Dayne St. Claire toward the near post in the 59th minute.

But quickly Lionel Messi knows when to show up to either level the match or take the lead. He worked his magic once again. Moralez fouls Messi just 10 yards outside the NYCFC area and was issued a yellow card. Messi took a deep breath, ran up to the ball, and somehow it took a deflection off the chest of a NYCFC defender. Freese, who thought the ball was going toward his near post, got his feet tangled on his line and couldn’t stop the equalizer from going in at the 61st minute.

Miami earned a corner along the near side. Messi would put it in play going short, then pushed it back out toward the midfield at David Ayala. He quickly gave the ball to Noah Allen as he surveyed his options to cross the ball inside the area. He decided to make a long cross to the far side, and somehow he finds Michael Dos Santos down low. It was a looping ball that somehow Dos Santos was able to leap up and head the ball toward the back post and beat Freese to retake the lead in the 74th minute.

There was a moment in the second half that many fans wanted the referee and VAR to give the Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Claire a red card and put the visitors down to ten men. It looked like he played the ball a full foot outside the area as he jumped in the air and over the top line of the box. There was no action from the referee, and the check was complete by VAR. Some believe the angles at which the camera was placed inside Yankee Stadium didn’t have the best of looks to say he was out, but unfortunately for NYCFC supporters, St. Claire remained in the match.

So Messi and Miami have handed NYCFC its first loss of the season and broken their three-match winning streak. So it’s off to the International Break, and they will need two weeks to make some changes and right the ship for them to get back toward their winning ways.

“It depends on which moment you define as a mistake. The start of the game was a little nervous for us, which is not something we usually see. But coming back from a goal down that early [in the game] the way we did, and then gaining more control, especially in the second half, where we had more control of possession than we did in the first half, which is something we said to each other during the break. Also, coming back from a goal down and going up 2-1, that’s a big statement in a game like this.

But again, what do you define as a mistake: the second goal or the third goal? I told the players in the dressing room, if you give that player ten crosses like that and ask him to finish, if he even gets one on target, you should be clapping your hands because it’s a brilliant goal. You have to respect that. From our perspective, [Defender] Kevin [O’Toole] is just a few yards too far inside, so he can’t make the physical contact, which allows the player to decide whether to cross or go for goal, and unfortunately, he went for goal,” said Head Coach Pascal Jansen

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