A new coach, and a first league test
Kily Gonzalez has already won a trophy with Inter Miami. He has not yet taken charge of an MLS match. That changes this evening, when San Diego FC arrive in Florida for the Argentine’s league debut on the touchline.
Gonzalez was handed the job permanently late last month, replacing interim coach Guillermo Hoyos. His first competitive night came on Wednesday against Cruz Azul in the Campeones Cup. Lionel Messi opened the scoring, then set up Casemiro for the second in a 2-0 win.
“There was a lot of anxiety, a lot of joy at the same time and a lot of uncertainty about how I was going to feel,” Gonzalez said about taking charge for the first time. “But the truth is that my coaching staff and I are very happy, enjoying it to the fullest and demanding even more from ourselves.”
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The draws are piling up for the champions
That result stretched Miami’s unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions, two wins and three draws. Look at the league table instead and the picture gets less comfortable. All three of those draws came in MLS, and the defending MLS Cup holders sit third in the Eastern Conference on 45 points from 25 games, a full 12 behind Nashville.
Scoring is not where the problem lies. The Herons have put away 61 goals this season, more than any other club in the league. Converting that volume into three points has become the sticking point, and Gonzalez has inherited a squad carrying nine draws on its record, more than double its four defeats.
San Diego arrive in the middle of a slide
Mikey Varas brings a side heading the wrong way. San Diego have lost three straight, the most recent of them a 5-0 home defeat to the Philadelphia Union last Sunday. That night dropped them to ninth in the West on 30 points, hanging onto the final playoff place. They have never faced Messi.
Anders Dreyer is still the reason to watch them. Nine goals and 11 assists in his second MLS season, after finishing behind only Messi in last year’s MVP vote. The defence behind him has shipped three or more goals in 10 matches across all competitions, which is the number Miami will be looking at.
“It’s a tremendous challenge,” Varas said, according to MLSsoccer.com. “They have top players, they have the best player in the history of the game. But it’s one that we’re all really excited for, because there’s not a single person who has woken up in the last couple days very happy with where we’re at and what’s happening.”
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