Inter Miami rescues 2-2 draw with FC Cincinnati on late Riquelme Fillipi goal

Inter Miami needed a substitute's first Major League Soccer goal to avoid a damaging home loss. Riquelme Fillipi scored in the 90th minute and Inter Miami tied FC Cincinnati 2-2 on Wednesday night, Oct. 28, at Nu Stadium, a regular-season match in which Lionel Messi was held without a goal and Miami gave up two late goals before rescuing a point.

The draw cost the reigning MLS Cup champions ground in the Eastern Conference standings. New England beat the New York Red Bulls 3-2 the same night and moved past Miami into second place, setting up a meeting between the two clubs on Sunday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, that could decide the No. 2 seed in the East, according to The Associated Press account published by WSVN.

How the goals came

The first half finished scoreless. Messi, who started on the right side of Miami's attack, was shown a yellow card in the 44th minute for a foul, according to ESPN's match log. Head coach Kily González made two changes at halftime, bringing on Telasco Segovia for Matías Galarza and Ian Fray for Sergio Reguilón.

Miami broke through in the 61st minute. After a corner kick, Casemiro set up Luis Suárez, who finished with his right foot from the left side of the box into the bottom right corner for a 1-0 lead.

Cincinnati then turned the match. In the 80th minute, Kenji Mboma Dem curled a left-footed shot from the right side of the area into the top left corner, assisted by Evander. Six minutes later, defender Samuel Gidi finished a fast break from outside the box for his first MLS goal, with Tom Barlow providing the assist, and the visitors led 2-1.

Fillipi, who had replaced Germán Berterame in the 83rd minute, answered almost immediately. Rodrigo De Paul found him on the left side of the box in the 90th minute, and his right-footed shot went into the bottom right corner, close to the spot Suárez had scored from earlier.

Cincinnati had one last chance to win it in stoppage time. Evander shot from around the penalty spot, but Fray got his body in front of the ball and deflected it away. The ensuing corner came to nothing.

Messi held in check

Messi led Inter Miami with five shots but did not score. Miami controlled the ball, holding 60.4% of possession and completing 567 of 611 passes, but put only four of its 14 shots on target, according to ESPN's match statistics. Cincinnati had 13 shots, three on target.

Suárez and Segovia were also booked in stoppage time, giving Miami three yellow cards on the night. Cincinnati had none.

A frustrated coach

González was blunt after the match. "What I know is that we made mistakes again, I think, in part, due to a great deal of anxiety, especially in the second half," he said, according to the AP. He added that his team had been "far too passive in the first half" and said the club's fate remained in its own hands, but that it had to improve significantly.

He also said the match demanded individual duels and play on the flanks, and that Miami lacked the sharpness to carry out what it had prepared during the week.

Where the East race stands

Both Florida teams in the East are in the playoff picture with two regular-season matches left for every club. The top of the standings after Wednesday, according to ESPN, is below.

Nashville has run away with first place, so Miami's realistic target is second. With New England two points ahead, Sunday's match at the Revolution is close to a decider. The AP noted that the outcome could also bear on the No. 2 overall seed in the MLS Cup playoffs.

Orlando City sits level with Cincinnati on 43 points. Cincinnati is still trying to clinch a postseason spot. It needed a win in Miami and a Columbus loss to Dallas to lock up a berth on Wednesday, the AP reported, so the draw left that unfinished, though the point still helped its chances.

Recent form

Miami came into the match off a 2-0 loss at the New York Red Bulls on Oct. 24, which had ended a three-match winning run against D.C. United, New York City FC and Atlanta United, according to ESPN's results. Cincinnati had won its previous two matches, both against D.C. United.

Miami's starting lineup included Messi, Suárez, De Paul and Casemiro, with Dayne St. Clair in goal. St. Clair made one save.

A different night from May

The result was a sharp contrast with the clubs' first meeting this season. On May 13 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Messi scored twice and Miami won 5-3, with Mateo Silvetti and Germán Berterame also scoring and a late goal credited as an own goal by Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano, according to ESPN's match data. Kévin Denkey, Pavel Bucha and Evander scored for Cincinnati that night; Denkey and Evander both started again on Wednesday.

Wednesday's match was also another draw at Nu Stadium, the club's new home at Miami Freedom Park. The stadium opened on April 4 with a 2-2 draw against Austin FC, a game in which Messi scored the first Inter Miami goal in the building and Suárez equalized in the 81st minute, according to ESPN. That opener drew 26,412.

What's next

Inter Miami plays at New England on Sunday, Nov. 1, then closes the regular season at home against Charlotte FC on Nov. 7. Before Wednesday's match, MLS announced that Cincinnati will visit Miami on Feb. 19, 2027, in the first game of the league's shortened sprint season, the bridge between the current calendar and the new one aligned with the international schedule that begins in July 2027.