Inter Miami Player Ratings: Leo Campana's Late Stunner Lifts Herons to Victory

A late winner was required in Inter Miami's triumph over Toronto FC.

Noah Allen stood tall in defense for Inter Miami / Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Inter Miami is one win away from the MLS points record after defeating Toronto FC.

Miami's big four of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba were all on the bench to start the match. The Herons registered just one shot on Sean Johnson's goal in the first half.

Toronto, on the other hand, managed seven shots and might've felt hard done by going into the halftime break still knotted up at 0–0. Messi and Busquets were introduced at the 60th minute point and the match began to open up.

The Herons found the opening goal deep in stoppage time. Leo Campana started the move with his persistent pressing deep in the Toronto half, and the Ecuador international finished the move off. After taking the ball off a Toronto player, Campana passed it out wide to Suárez who returned the favor with a first-time cross that Campana slammed home on the volley.

Campana split Toronto's defenders Tyrese Spicer and Raoul Petretta before taking a touch and finding the back of the net with a scissor-kick. In the past, Martino would've taken off Suárez for Campana, or vice versa. However, he decided to play both of them up top and it worked out to perfection with Miami claiming all three points and keeping a clean sheet on the road.

It was a gritty performance from Miami that featured some impressive one-on-one defending from Noah Allen and Serhiy Kryvtsov. With the win, Miami is now just three points away from breaking the MLS single-season points record that stands at 73 points set by the New England Revolution in 2021.

All eyes will be on the south Florida club next weekend when Martino's team aims to make history against the struggling Revolution at Chase Stadium.

Se juntaron los goleadores ✨ Increíble volea de Campana para darnos la ventaja 💥 pic.twitter.com/avXxs2pbWH

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 5, 2024

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Inter Miami Player Ratings (3-4-3)

Starters

GK: Oscar Ustari – 7/10 – Miami's backup goalkeeper made a few important stops in the first half. His footwork near his own goal probably gave Miami fans a bit of a heart attack from time to time, though.

CB: Tomás Avilés – 7/10 – The Herons' best defender rarely put a foot wrong throughout the match.

CB: Serhiy Kryvtsov – 7/10 – Kryvtsov was the steady hand in the backline, spraying passes out wide to kickstart attacking movements.

CB: Noah Allen – 8/10 – The versatile defender continues to put in shifts in defense regardless of where he lines up. Denied Prince Osei Owusu a shot on goal with a brilliant challenge in his own box.

RWB: Julian Gressel – 6/10 – Gressel wasn't himself in the first half. A lapse in concentration from him near the end of the first half allowed Toronto to spring forward on the counter.

CM: David Ruiz – 7/10 – Martino opted to bring Ruiz into the mix for his 11th start of the season and he excelled alongside Cremaschi.

CM: Benjamin Cremaschi – 6/10 – Ran the show in the midfield in the early stages. He dropped off a few levels before making way for Busquets in the second half.

LWB: Franco Negri – 6/10 – Couldn't make an impact down the left-hand side like Jordi Alba has done. He was solid defensively and got valuable minutes in the tank.

RW: Matías Rojas – 6/10 – Got into a few exciting positions in the final third but it amounted to nothing. Dropped into a deeper midfield role in the second half to help progress play into the final third before coming off.

ST: Leo Campana – 8/10 – Struggled to make an impact due to the lack of service early on. Martino's decision to keep him on the pitch looked like a masterstroke as he scored the winning goal with an incredible strike.

LW: Robert Taylor – 6/10 – Started strong but faded as the match wore on.

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Substitutes

RW: Lionel Messi – 7/10 – The 37-year-old went on a few dazzling runs in the final third to please the fans in attendance in Toronto but couldn't get on the scoresheet.

CM: Sergio Busquets – 7/10 – Operated well in tight spaces after coming on. Stepped up in the midfield at times to help out going forward.

ST: Luis Suárez – 7/10 – Assisted Campana's strike with an excellent first-time cross to the six-yard box.

CM: Yannick Bright – 6/10 – Helped stabilize the midfield in the latter stages.

CM: Diego Gómez – N/A

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Manager

Gerardo 'Tata' Martino – 7/10 – Martino worked a balancing act trying to keep his star players fit and fresh while also having the MLS single-season points record in mind.

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