St. Louis City capitalized on three set pieces for an easy 3-0 win over visiting Inter Miami on Saturday night.
Samuel Adeniran and Tim Parker headed corner kicks into the net in the 28th and 40th minutes, respectively, and Eduard Lowen iced the match in the 80th minute on a perfectly placed free kick.
Expansion side St. Louis (13-8-2, 41 points) remained in first place in the Western Conference by winning for the fourth time in five matches.
Lionel Messi can’t arrive soon enough for Inter Miami (5-14-3, 18 points), as they saw their winless streak extend to 11 matches (0-8-3). The club confirmed the long-anticipated signing of Messi earlier in the day and will introduce him on Sunday evening.
Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender made eight saves, while St. Louis’ Roman Burki only needed to make three to earn his seventh shutout of the season.
St. Louis City had a 19-10 advantage in shots and an 11-3 edge in shots on goal despite Inter Miami finishing with a massive 63.4 percent of the possession.
The first goal was set up when Sergii Kryvtsov blocked a St. Louis crossing attempt behind the line for a corner kick. Indiana Vassilev sent the offering into the box and Adeniran headed it in at the far post for his third goal of the season.
Roughly 10 minutes later, St. Louis’ Jared Stroud had the ball on a counterattack and fired a long shot. Callender saved it, but it ricocheted off Kryvtsov and over the line. Aziel Jackson took the ensuing corner, and Parker’s header glanced in off the inside of the far post — also his third goal of the campaign.
Miami defender Kamal Miller earned a yellow card in the 79th minute for a tackle from behind near the 18-yard box, setting St. Louis up with a golden chance. Lowen, who had subbed on in the 61st minute for Vassilev, capitalized on a right-footed shot to the top left corner, over the wall of Miami defenders and the outstretched glove of Callender.
Lowen now has six goals and six assists on the year.
–Field Level Media