Casemiro’s Third Straight Header Rescues Point for Inter Miami in 1-1 Draw With Lewandowski’s Chicago Fire
Lionel Messi set up Carlos Casemiro for his third consecutive headed goal as Inter Miami battled to a 1-1 draw away at Robert Lewandowski’s Chicago Fire on Wednesday night, in a heavyweight MLS clash watched by a record crowd for a Fire match at Soldier Field.
Messi’s assist for Casemiro’s equaliser, arriving just three minutes into the second half from a free kick, was his league-leading 13th of the season, and marked the Brazilian midfielder’s third goal in as many matches, all of them scored with his head, in what has been an eye-catching debut MLS stretch since his summer move to Florida. The goal came in Casemiro’s eighth appearance for Inter Miami. Chicago had taken an early lead in the 10th minute through Lewandowski, who finished off a cross from left-back Andrew Gutman with a spectacular volley, his sixth goal in his first nine MLS appearances following his own high-profile move to the league this summer.
The match, played before a crowd of 63,094, the largest ever recorded for a Chicago Fire fixture at Soldier Field, brought together several former Barcelona stars on opposing sides, with Messi and Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez lining up for Inter Miami against Lewandowski, the Polish striker whose arrival at Chicago this summer has been one of the league’s biggest storylines. Lewandowski, who has now scored in three consecutive MLS matches, continued to show the finishing quality that has defined much of his career, though he could not prevent Inter Miami’s response just after the interval.
Inter Miami pushed for a winner throughout the second half but found Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady in inspired form, denying the visitors what would have been a first win in seven matches across all competitions for Javier Mascherano’s side. For Chicago, the result extended their own run to four consecutive draws. The match also produced a heated moment late on between Lewandowski and Inter Miami’s Rodrigo De Paul, adding to the intensity of an already tightly contested encounter between two of the league’s most closely watched attacking talents.
Inter Miami were without permanent head coach Kily Gonzalez for the fixture, with the club continuing to await the processing of his work visa, leaving assistant Guillermo Hoyos in charge of the side from the touchline in Chicago. With the draw, Inter Miami’s recent form continues to raise questions heading into the closing stretch of the MLS regular season, even as Messi’s remarkable individual numbers, now the league’s all-time leader in assists, continue to underline his enduring influence on the competition.
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