In St. Paul, Minnesota United secured a decisive 4-1 victory over Inter Miami on Saturday, thanks to goals from Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Anthony Markanich, and Robin Lod. With this triumph, Minnesota continues their winning streak, having defeated Austin 3-0 in their previous match, ending a series of three games without a victory.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane netted his first goal of the season, opening the scoring in the 32nd minute. Last season, Hlongwane recorded a career-high of 11 goals. In this match, he expertly timed his run to connect with a forward pass from Carlos Harvey, finishing with a single touch inside the back post from the right side of the 6-yard box.
As the first half drew to a close, Markanich extended the lead to 2-0. This marked his second consecutive goal, his third in his four-year MLS career. The opportunity arose from a long throw-in by Michael Boxall to the near post, where Nicolás Romero flicked a header toward Markanich, allowing him to score from close range with another header. It was Romero’s first assist in his debut MLS season at just 21 years old.
Lionel Messi found the net for Miami in the 48th minute. He delivered a shot from the left-center of the penalty area past the reach of Minnesota’s diving goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair, to put Miami on the scoreboard.
Notably absent from Miami’s lineup was Luis Suárez, due to personal reasons. The visitors’ misfortune continued, however, when Marcello Weigandt inadvertently scored an own goal in the 68th minute, making it 3-1 in favor of Minnesota. Robin Lod added to Miami’s woes by scoring his first goal of the season in the 70th minute with a one-touch finish from a pass by Tani Oluwaseyi, sealing the match.
Miami entered the match after a strong 4-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls, rebounding from their first loss of the season on April 27, a 4-3 defeat to Dallas at home. In their previous encounter with Minnesota last June 2022, Miami had emerged victorious with a 2-1 win on their home pitch.