MLS teams ‘CAN beat’ Inter Miami this season, insists Taylor Twellman after Lionel Messi and Co stumbled to a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake in their season opener

Despite securing a 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake at Chase Stadium, MLS analyst Taylor Twellman highlighted that Inter Miami looked beatable in their season opener.

Although the scoreboard favored Lionel Messi and company, Twellman was critical of their overall performance. During the match, he suggested that MLS clubs might no longer look at Inter Miami with rose-tinted lenses.

“There won’t be many teams looking at this tonight and thinking there’s no way we can beat Inter Miami,” Twellman said in his commentary.

“The number of chances Salt Lake has had,” he continued. “You can go after Inter Miami. The teams in the east will look at this and think: ‘If we are ready sportingly and can put pressure on them, we can make it difficult.’

His criticism came after Inter Miami allowed Real Salt Lake to make seventeen shots. Although there were only two in the picture, the Herons defense gave the ball away several times under pressure.

Robert Taylor opened the score against Real Salt Lake with a goal just before half time

Midfielder Diego Gomez put the nail in the coffin by scoring Miami’s second goal in the 83rd

Inter Miami dominated much of the first half and went into halftime with a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute behind Robert Taylor’s goal.

However, Real Salt Lake came back swinging after the break but missed their valuable chances for a draw. While Inter Miami secured three points with a second goal from Diego Gomez in the 83rd, their defensive vulnerability became a glaring problem in the second half.

The visitors controlled almost half of the ball possession and controlled 44.9 percent of the game after 90 minutes.

Postgame, Inter Miami manager Tata Martino addressed their mistakes and admitted they were lucky to escape with the win.

Before Wednesday, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami won just one of their seven preseason matches

Forward Luis Suarez had a quiet evening in his MLS debut in front of the crowd in Fort Lauderdale

Postgame, Inter Miami coach Tata Martino admitted they were fortunate to get a win

“Unfortunately, we still owe ourselves a better second half, which as a coaching staff we have to focus on and correct because the opponents can hurt us,” Martino said. “We were lucky today that Salt Lake didn’t hurt us, but that won’t always be the case.

“Letting the opponent come back into the game when it is not necessary and only because of the many mistakes we made at the back could cause a lot of damage for us in the future.”

The win comes as a refresher after Inter Miami won just one of their seven preseason games. It was also the MLS debut for Luis Suarez, who did not have much success in the match.

The Herons will travel west for their next match as they prepare to take on the LA Galaxy on Sunday.