Inter Miami's impressive 2024 season came to an abrupt ending at the hands of Atlanta United in Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The south Florida club were arguably the outright favorites by many to lift MLS Cup this December, but that won't be happening after Atlanta toppled the Herons in the best-of-three format, winning two games to Miami's one. Miami was expected to take care of business in quick fashion against an Atlanta team that barely clinched a wild card spot but was instead shocked at the weekend.
Lionel Messi's MVP-caliber season in just 19 games is now all for nothing from a team perspective, and the same can be said about Luis Suárez's 20 goals scored during the regular season.
So, where does Miami go from here after not making it past Round One despite claiming the single-season points record and Supporters' Shield title?
A good place to start would be addressing the defense. It was evident during the regular season that if Miami were to get knocked out of the postseason, it would likely be because of its leaky defense. When a team has aging stars leading the frontline that don't press as much as the rest of the team, it makes defensive transitions much harder to tackle.
Tomás Avilés is without a doubt Miami's best defender, but head coach Tata Martino cannot keep relying on Sergio Busquets to slide in from the midfield to help out in defense. The Herons had three players on loan—David Martínez, Nicolás Freire and Marcelo Weigandt—and shouldn't be brought back if Miami wishes to conquer MLS Cup in 2025.
