Miami doesn't miss Messi, defeats Toronto FC 3-1

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Rookie Federico Redondo scored the first two goals of his career in the second half after assisting on a first-half score by Diego Gomez and Inter Miami posted a 3-1 victory over Toronto FC on Wednesday night.

Toronto had snapped a six-game losing streak with a 2-1 home win over Philadelphia on Saturday, but gave up three unanswered goals to host Miami before scoring.

Neither team scored until Redondo fed Gomez for a goal in the 43rd minute to give Inter Miami (15-4-5) a 1-0 lead at halftime. It was the third goal for Gomez and the third assist for Redondo.

Redondo’s goals came in a six-minute span. The 21-year-old midfielder used an assist from defender Julian Gressel in the 53rd minute to forge a two-goal lead and found the net again — off passes from Gomez and Gressel — in the 59th to make it 3-0.

Toronto (8-14-3) avoided a shutout when Derrick Etienne Jr. scored in the 80th minute.

Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty notched his third assist and Kosi Thompson picked up his first on Etienne’s third goal this season.

“I thought we missed some big opportunities, and I think that for us was the gap,” Toronto head coach John Herdman said.

“When I look at the stats overall, it’s 10 shots to eight, five shots on goal to our four. We had more possessions, more passes, more corners, but they post three goals and we post one. We have to take our chances.

“Halftime sapped us a bit. I think the players come out after halftime and you can just see there was a level of heaviness in the legs, particularly of some players that have done some big minutes. I just thought they caught us with their freshness.

“They did better in their box with keeping the ball out of the back of the net and finishing and we didn’t do well enough in those moments.”

Gomez has six assists this season, while Gressel has 12. Gressel has an assist in five straight matches.

He and Lionel Messi are the second pair of teammates to pull off at least a five-match assist run in the same season in league history.

Drake Callendar finished with three saves in goal for Inter Miami, becoming the first player to make 100 appearances in club history.

Striker Robert Taylor subbed in for Gomez in the 80th minute for his 100th appearance to make it a two-man club. Sean Johnson saved two shots for Toronto.

“After hearing some of the stats that were told to us after the game, and just the flow of the game, I think we did a good job at times creating some good chances and we got to do better to put them away,” Etienne said.

“Then just some lack of focus on the goals that we gave up really cost us. When you’re playing a top team like Miami you can’t give up breakaways and easy chances like that, and that’s what they did and they hurt us.”

Luis Suarez subbed into the match in the second half in his return to Inter Miami after playing in Copa America for Uruguay.

Messi, who played in the event for Argentina, is out indefinitely after suffering a ligament injury in his right ankle in a victory over Columbia in the final.

Toronto stays on the road to play CF Montreal on Saturday. Inter Miami will host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.