The chase is on for Inter Miami. Victory over the New York Red Bulls in Lionel Messi’s first Major League Soccer match was enough to lift the club off the foot of the Eastern Conference. They have 11 regular season matches left to make up an 11-point difference and qualify for the playoffs. Toronto FC, bottom of the East on a run of 10 consecutive losses, now have the worst record in MLS, along with the Colorado Rapids.
It wasn’t meant to be this way. Only last year, Toronto FC were being spoken about as a resurgent force with Lorenzo Insigne, signed from Napoli on a league-record contract, hailed as the most notable transfer in MLS history. Federico Bernardeschi was another statement signing, at least in pre-Messi terms. While Inter Miami’s new stars have prospered, though, TFC’s have flopped.
