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Inter Miami threw away a 3-1 lead as they suffered their first loss of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season with a stunning 4-3 defeat to FC Dallas on Sunday.
Lionel Messi sat out the game at Chase Stadium along with teammates Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets for Miami, who face a CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final second-leg clash on Wednesday.
With Miami trailing 2-0 from the first leg of that tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps, coach Javier Mascherano made a host of changes to his starting line-up, and the plan looked to have worked with his team 3-1 up with 25 minutes left.
But a determined Dallas struck three times to take all three points and end Miami’s status as the only unbeaten team in MLS.
Dallas had taken an eighth-minute lead with a fierce drive from fullback Shaq Moore, but Inter Miami were quickly on level terms with a close-range finish from Fafa Picault.
Ecuadorian 18-year-old Allen Obando then put Miami ahead in the 29th minute with a perfectly timed run to meet a low cross from Ian Fray with a clinical finish.
Miami looked to be cruising after David Martinez added the third, pouncing on a loose ball to drive into the far corner after good work from Benjamin Cremaschi.
But Dallas regrouped, and the introduction of Brazilian attacker Pedrinho changed the momentum of the game.
The Texas side pulled a goal back when Argentine Luciano Acosta floated a free kick into the box and Osaze Urhoghide fought off the attentions of Maxi Falcon to fire home on the turn.
“Route One” proved fruitful for Dallas, who drew level when a long ball from Pedro Martins found Anderson Julio, who broke clear of the flat-footed Inter Miami defence and confidently fired home.
Then, with nine minutes left, a smart passing move from Dallas ended with Logan Farrington pulling back to Pedrinho, who buried the ball in the bottom corner to stun the home crowd.
Mascherano blamed himself for his second half substitutions and formation shifts.
“I told the players they had nothing to feel bad about, there were a lot of players in the lineup who had not played many minutes this season; it’s not easy to come in like that, a bunch of players who had not played together,” the Argentine said.
“They gave their maximum and for 65 minutes the team was doing well. Unfortunately, at 3-2, when everything was in our favor, I made mistakes and I take the blame,” he added.
Former Saint-Etienne winger Denis Bouanga had an eventful game for Los Angeles FC in their 2-2 draw with St. Louis City.
The Le Mans-born Gabon international scored twice — including a stoppage-time winner after he had failed to convert a penalty earlier.
After a tepid first half, German Cedric Teuchert put St. Louis ahead in the 52nd minute, turning in a low cross from Jannes Horn.
Bouanga equalised, tapping in a Cengiz Under ball at the back post in the 70th minute and then three minutes later was brought down in the box by Josh Yaro but saw his penalty saved by Ben Lundt.
The visitors went down to 10 men when Alfredo Morales received a second yellow card, but despite being down a man, St. Louis looked to have grabbed a win with a scramble in the box ending with the ball flying in off the back of Joakim Nilsson, eventually designated an own goal from LAFC’s Nathan Ordaz.
But deep in stoppage time, Bouanga showed his pace to lose his markers before cutting inside and firing a superb winner into the top corner.
Defending champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy, remain winless and rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference after a 4-2 home defeat to the Portland Timbers.
The Galaxy have just three points from their opening 10 games and trailed 3-0 when Kevin Kelsy scored with a beautiful first-time strike in the 63rd minute.
The home side threatened a comeback with goals from Christian Ramirez and Marco Reus, but Portland responded with a Jonathan Rodriguez penalty to kill off the Galaxy’s momentum.
The Timbers, managed by Englishman Phil Neville, are second in the West on 18 points from the opening 10 games — a club record start to a season.
Western Conference leaders Vancouver warmed up for their trip to Florida with a 3-1 win at Minnesota, with Sebastian Berhalter opening the scoring with a fine effort from outside the box and Ecuadorian Pedro Vite scoring twice.
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