Inter Miami's Underlying Defensive Metrics That Lead to Early Playoffs Exit

The Herons' defense let them down in the MLS Cup playoffs resulting in a Round One elimination against Atlanta United.

Inter Miami's defensive issues led to it's early MLS Cup playoffs exit / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Inter Miami were the outright best attacking Major League Soccer team in 2024. The Herons managed an impressive 79 goals scored during 34 regular season games, which was the most in MLS.

Miami's superstars in Lionel Messi and Luis Suàrez accounted for 40 goals between themselves as the Herons lifted the Supporters' Shield and set a new single-season record for points with 74. Everything was fine in the final third for the most part, but it couldn't been more different on the defensive end of the pitch.

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For starters, Miami boss Gerardo 'Tata' Martino dealt with injuries and suspensions in defense through the campaign. Fullbacks Jordi Alba, Franco Negri and Marcelo Weigandt were fit and firing for most of the season, but the center back department experienced the most turmoil through injury.

Nicolás Freire—who was on loan from Liga MX side Pumas UNAM—was becoming a regular in the Miami backline before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in mid-May. River Play loanee David Martínez also suffered spells out on the sideline and the same can be said for veteran defender Serhiy Kryvstov.

Still, the Herons had enough quality in Tomás Avilés, Noah Allen and Ian Fray to get results over the line. Miami's defensive woes were largely masked by the immense attacking talent up front which was exposed in the team's Round One series defeat to Atlanta United.

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A few stellar performances from 40-year-old goalkeeper Brad Guzan also helped Atlanta stun Miami, but this wasn't a fluke victory. During the regular season, Atlanta took four points off Miami with a 3–1 away win in late May while holding the Herons to a 2–2 draw at home in September.

Many look past the Herons' total goals conceded because they managed a staggering 79 goals scored in the regular season. The 49 goals conceded were about middle-of-the-pack when compared to other MLS teams, but it was also the same amount of goals conceded by their Round One opponents Atlanta, who finished in ninth place in the Eastern Conference when many might've thought the Five Stripes conceded far more in 2024.

When broken down further, Miami amassed an xG of 53.8, outperforming it by 25.2, while it conceded an xGA of 53.0. The Herons performed closely to their xGA but heavily relied on individual brilliance from the likes of Messi and Suárez, which led to their downfall in the playoffs.

Miami's high defensive line often left them exposed when teams raced ahead on counter attacks. Since Messi and Suárez don't track back when the team loses possession, this creates a disadvantage for Miami in defensive transition.

This led to Miami defenders sometimes making rash challenges trying to stop opposing forwards from bearing down on Drake Callender's goal. This was seen in the league-leading 26 errors that resulted in an opponent's shot as well as 330 tackles lost.

Although Miami typically dominated possession in matches, there were still periods where the team had to sit in and defend. The team's 305 tackles won in its defensive third—the second-most in MLS—illustrates the amount of recovering runs and challenges it had to make because of the space given up in behind.

The rash challenges in defense also led to Miami conceding seven penalty kicks, which was the third-most in the league. Martino's side also blocked 131 shots, the fourth-most in MLS. It's clear to see that Miami got rather lucky at times on the defensive end and that luck ran out against its bogey team in Atlanta that converted chances.

While Callender is probably the least of Miami's worries in defense, he still experienced an up-and-down regular season. The 27-year-old managed just five clean sheets in 32 starts and was part of the defense that conceded 45 of the 49 goals. Callender also conceded 1.41 goals-per-game which isn't optimal in a possession-based team with the greatest player of all time.

Of course, Callender wasn't at fault for a lot of Miami's conceded goals, but he still could've been better during stretches of the season which is why it wouldn't be a total surprise if Miami looked to replace him this offseason.

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