MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC Suffers 3-2 Loss at Inter Miami CF

Published on September 9, 2023 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City suffered a 3-2 setback on Saturday in the club's first ever match-up with Inter Miami CF.

Daniel Salloi opened the scoring, marking his fifth straight regular season match with a goal or assist, and Alan Pulido closed out the scoresheet as the Mexican striker moved into second place in the MLS Golden Boot race with his 13th goal of the campaign.

However, the two Sporting KC goals bookended a spree of three goals from Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, highlighted by a first-half brace from Designated Player Leo Campana and the game-winning goal from 21-year-old summer signing Facundo Farias. With the win, Inter Miami extends the team's unbeaten streak to 12 consecutive matches across all competitions for a side that won Leagues Cup 2023 and is set to play in the U.S. Open Cup Final later this month.

Salloi continued his strong run of form and put Sporting ahead 1-0 in the ninth minute with his seventh goal of the season and 45th goal of his MLS career. Felipe Gutierrez set up the breakthrough, first winning the ball off Dixon Arroyo then evading the Ecuador international before unleashing a shot from beyond 30 yards out that was too hot for Inter Miami CF goalkeeper Drake Callender to handle. Salloi's goal-scoring instincts put him in the right spot at the right time and the Hungarian fired home the rebound from the top of the six-yard box.

Inter Miami entered Saturday's match winless this season (0-14-1) in MLS play when conceding the opening goal, but would end that streak emphatically with three straight goals to capture all three points in their push for the playoffs. Campana produced the equalizer, earning and then converting a penalty in the 24th minute, and then struck for the go-ahead goal on the cusp of halftime with a header off a cross from club captain DeAndre Yedlin in the 45th minute.

The eventual game-winning goal would come in controversial fashion 15 minutes into the second half as Ismail Elfath, the reigning MLS Referee of the Year, whistled Andreu Fontas for a dubious handling decision. Sergio Busquets took the restart quickly and picked out the run of Farias behind the Sporting KC backline as the Argentine scored in his second straight match.

Trailing 3-1, Sporting KC refused to go quietly and would pull a goal back in the 78th minute. Pulido combined with Erik Thommy on a give-and-go and expertly squeezed between two defenders at the corner of the penalty area before sending a sublime strike inside the far post. Pulido, who leads MLS with 12 goals since the start of June, has a team-best 14 goals in all competitions this season after missing all of 2022 due to injury, while Thommy leads the team with 12 assists in all competitions and now has five goal contributions (one goal, four assists) in his past three matches.

Sporting pushed numbers forward in hopes of leveling the match late and would attempt the game's final nine shots - including a chance from second-half substitute Tim Leibold that deflected wide in the 85th minute and a header from Willy Agada saved by Callender in stoppage time - however would come up emptyhanded.

The result leaves Sporting KC two points out of playoff position with six matches remaining, including a road trip to Minnesota United FC next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT at Allianz Field and the Western Conference match-up will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

QUOTES

Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes

On Sporting's 3-2 loss to Inter Miami CF...

We were playing a team that right now is in really good form. We scored and they went up at halftime. I think the penalty (awarded to Leonardo Campana) is something that we could have controlled. The second goal-sometimes that happens when someone crosses and someone finishes. That happens in games. It's not an abnormal goal.

I think two things about their third goal. First, if you're going to call that a handball, when the player's hand is down by his side and he has no idea about the handball, you have to understand the laws of the game. He didn't make himself bigger or put himself in an unnatural position. The player's hands are down by his side. Because the ball ricochets off his leg, hits his butt and hits his hand, it's not a handball. At the same time, the referee starts talking to him. And for the referee to allow the other team to play fast in that moment when he's talking to our guy-and it took him so long to make the call as well-in that situation he should have called that back.

The other thing that bothers me is that we score 10 minutes into the game and we go up 1-0. Then we're getting forced to play fast-for what reason I don't really know. We're not even playing slow. We're playing the normal game. As they go up, they're walking everywhere and there's not the same fervor to try and get them to play fast like there was with us. We didn't get the same accommodation in the game. On the third goal, the play has to be stopped because of the situation and the way he was talking to our player. I think it changes the game.

On Sporting's late rally...

I think in a game like this where once they go up 3-1 and the game is back and forth, end to end, you're going to get chances. You're going to get (looks) in front of your goal. And I thought our team actually did some really good things. On their third goal could we be smarter? Sure, we could be smarter. We could keep the ball and get a yellow card. We could do that and not let them play fast. There's a lot of different things that we could do (differently).

I think once all of Miami's goals were scored, especially when it was 3-1, I think the game was more open than before. But then when we got the second goal, all of a sudden they didn't have the energy to go forward anymore and they were just trying to do whatever they could to try to go on a counter with one, two, maybe at the most three guys. And we were doing a very good job playing from behind to defend and we put some good balls in and around the box. We had a couple of chances. I actually think we did okay. I just don't like the penalty and I don't like the third goal.

On the handball called on Andreu Fontas immediately before Miami's third goal...

(Fontas) says the ball never hit his hand at all, so I'm going with what he said. It never hit his hand at all. But I go back to it. The referee's talking to the player. There's no way that he should have let the play continue if he's talking to our player. There's no way he should let the play go on. What he could have done is he could have let the play go and then he could have always brought it back and done VAR on it. But he didn't afford us that accommodation.

Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi

On Sporting's 3-2 loss to Inter Miami CF...

I think we could have been more patient with the ball and kept it much more in the game. I think we kind of got lost in it. We didn't have enough intensity at the end. We kind of turned it on, especially with that second goal that Alan scored. But overall, I don't think we were good enough today. Yeah, it's unfortunate. We should have gotten away with a point at least. We might miss this one in the future. But we've got to keep going. It was tough, I'm going to be honest. It was very tough today with this weather to really put intensity into this game. I think both teams struggled, so they were just a tiny bit more on the edge.

On the humid playing conditions...

Honestly, most guys were saying they've never played in humidity like this. I'm already skinny, but I think I lost, like, 15 pounds. So it's not easy, but that's not an excuse. It's one of those that just makes it more difficult. But we have to bounce back from it because there are still games left and we have to make the playoffs.

On the handball called on Andreu Fontas immediately before Miami's third goal...

I need to watch it back. Obviously, I believe (Fontas) didn't touch his hand, but even if it did, the rule is that if it touches your feet or leg and then it touches your hand, it's not a handball. So maybe my knowledge is wrong, but that's what I don't understand-how that could have happened. And then the ref is talking to Fontas and they restart. I don't know. A lot happened in that couple of seconds. I want to watch it back, but it's just one of those things that is not too clear for me. So I want to take a look at it again.

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Major League Soccer Stories from September 9, 2023


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