Still without Messi, Miami is thrashed in Chicago and sees playoff further

Still without Lionel Messi, injured since joining the national team – fourth straight game of absence – Inter Miami visited the Chicago Fire for Major League Soccer (MLS), and were thrashed 4-1.

Switzerland’s Shaqiri opened the scoring for Chicago in the 49th, 4 minutes later Josef Martinez reduced the penalty but the home side would go on to charge and score through Haile-Selassie (62 and 66) and again Shaqiro in the 73rd.

The Florida team, which hasn’t won in 3 games, remains second-to-last in the Eastern Conference with 33 points, but two fewer games, 5 points off 9th place. The Chicago club reaches 40 points and is eighth, within the playoff qualifying zone. They go straight through the top 7 of each conference and there is a knockout between the next two.

Inter Miami’s schedule for October, on the 8th, 19th, and 21st, includes a home duel against Cincinnati, MLS’s best team and Conference leader, and two straight games with Charlotte, which is just above in the standings with 3 more points. One of these games will be held on a FIFA date when Inter Miami usually loses a dozen players to the national teams.