Lewis Morgan destroyed his former club Inter Miami, scoring three and setting up one more in a 4-0 win for New York Red Bulls.
TELL ME MORE
Inter Miami were without Messi, but it was their defense that once again let the Herons down on Saturday. For the third time in as many MLS matches, Tata Martino’s men conceded early. Having shipped goals to CF Montreal and D.C. United within the first 15 minutes of those games, Miami collapsed even earlier at a rainy Red Bull Arena as the hosts went ahead inside three minutes courtesy of Morgan.
Playing against his former club, the ex-Sunderland striker opted not to celebrate and he would add another goal to his tally in the 51st minute. The Scot then turned creator 15 minutes later as he beat his defender to help set up Wiki Carmona for 3-0, effectively burying Inter Miami.
Morgan, though, wasn’t done there, as he completed his hat-trick in the 70th minute, capping arguably the best performance of his career.
HAT TRICK 🎩🎩🎩@10LewisMorgan is on fire! pic.twitter.com/ybFQ0hDCxD
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2024
DID YOU KNOW?
Twice-capped Scotland international Morgan scored seven goals through his two seasons with Inter Miami, having joined the club after featuring for St. Mirren, Celtic and Sunderland prior to making the leap to MLS.
THE MVP
Absolutely no doubt here, as Morgan gets the nod. It was something of a revenge game for the forward, who couldn’t be stopped by his former club. Having been one of the bright spots of Inter Miami’s initial years in MLS, the club was forced to trade him after being hit with punishments for violating financial rules.
That’ll make the fact that it was Morgan who inspired New York Red Bulls to the 4-0 win even more painful. It’s been a while since the ex-Celtic striker left and so much has changed for the Herons since, but there’s no doubt that he’ll have a big smile on his face after taking it to the team that got rid of him.
🗣️ @10LewisMorgan after the big win with a shoutout to Dante Vanzeir pic.twitter.com/7hzOIFKibP
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2024
THE BIG LOSER
Take your pick. When you lose 4-0, no one covered themselves in glory. No matter where you look on the field, you could find someone on Inter Miami to criticize.
Suarez has bought some goodwill, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. The defense… well, plenty has been said about how bad they are. This game surely won’t change opinions.
The big loser, though, was probably the midfield. Without the pace of Diego Gomez and Federico Redondo, the Herons simply couldn’t cope with the Red Bulls’ press. Sergio Busquets was left to fend for himself, with Julian Gressel and Dalton Sunderland unable to help him out.
The defense was terrible and the attack was quiet, but the midfield played a big part in Miami’s total collapse.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Inter Miami will need a bounceback performance against New York’s other team as they play host to New York City FC in their next MLS match on March 30. After that, the Herons will play a massive CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final against CF Monterrey on April 3.
