Last Updated on April 23, 2026 12:30 pm by ZUWP Automation
Inter Miami 2-0 winners at America First Field, as two goals in as many minutes seal a clinical away victory
For eighty-one minutes, Real Salt Lake held firm. They had the better of the early exchanges, they absorbed Miami’s pressure, and they looked every inch a side on a five-match unbeaten run at home. Then the game shifted in the space of sixty seconds, and it was all gone. Rodrigo De Paul and a substitute combined to hand Inter Miami a 2-0 win in Salt Lake City that was, in the end, entirely of Miami’s making.
The Match That Turned on a Single Minute
The first eighty minutes told one story. Real Salt Lake, unbeaten in their last five and having hammered San Diego 4-1 just four days earlier, were compact and purposeful in their 3-4-3 shape. Miami had more of the ball, more shots, and considerably more ambition going forward, but Salt Lake’s goalkeeper, wearing the captain’s armband, kept them honest. He made five saves across the ninety minutes, four of them inside the box, and for the longest stretch of the match, that looked like it might be enough.
Then came the 82nd minute. Telasco Segovia, who had collected a yellow card in the 65th minute for a foul, turned provider, teeing up De Paul for a right-foot finish that broke the deadlock. The scoreline read 0-1. Within sixty seconds, it was 0-2. Germán Berterame, introduced from the bench in the 75th minute, converted with his left foot after an assist from Berterame’s fellow substitute connection, the goal credited to assist from player 455810 in the data. Two goals. Two minutes. Match over.
The speed of the collapse will sting Salt Lake most. They had not conceded a goal in their previous two home matches, keeping clean sheets against San Diego and Sporting KC. To ship two in consecutive minutes, both after the 80th mark, is the sort of ending that lingers.
Miami’s Pressure Finally Told
The statistics bear out what the scoreline perhaps understates. Inter Miami attempted 19 shots to Real Salt Lake’s 11, with seven on target against four. More telling still: Miami generated 41 dangerous attacks to Salt Lake’s 26, and their 11 shots from inside the box compared to just four for the hosts. The chances were there throughout. Miami simply could not find the finish until the match was almost gone.
Three big chances were missed before the goals arrived, and that wastefulness is the reason this match was not settled far earlier. Salt Lake’s goalkeeper earned his rating with those saves inside the box, denying Miami on multiple occasions when a goal looked certain.
The man at the centre of Miami’s attacking play all evening was their captain, wearing the number 10 shirt. He attempted 10 shots, had four on target, created three chances, and won three dribbles from six attempts. His expected goals figure of 0.90 across the ninety minutes tells you he was in the right positions repeatedly. The fact he did not score is a testament partly to Salt Lake’s resistance and partly to the fine margins of the game. His xG on target reached 1.08, meaning the quality of his attempts was genuinely threatening, even when the goalkeeper stood firm.
De Paul, meanwhile, produced the decisive contribution of the night. He completed 68 of 77 passes at 88 per cent accuracy, created two chances, and then applied the finish that broke Salt Lake’s resistance. His goal came from an xG of just 0.08, the kind of low-probability strike that punishes a side the moment their concentration wavers. His match rating of 7.89 was the highest of any outfield player on the pitch.
A Fractious Afternoon Before the Goals
The match was not without its edge before the late drama. A VAR check arrived as early as the sixth minute, setting the tone for a fixture that carried some needle. Three yellow cards were shown in the final three minutes of the first half alone, with fouls and then a booking for argument in the 58th minute generating a pair of simultaneous cautions. Six bookings in total across the ninety minutes, three for each side, spoke to the tension that had been building long before Miami finally found the net.
Salt Lake made three substitutions in search of a goal that never came. Their best individual performers were a midfielder who completed 46 of 59 passes and contributed five ball recoveries, and a defender who made 11 ball recoveries and blocked two shots. Solid contributions, but not enough to prevent the late unravelling.
Berterame’s impact off the bench deserves particular mention. He played just 15 minutes, completed all nine of his passes, created two chances, and scored. His xG on target of 0.61 suggests the finish was of genuine quality, and his match rating of 7.60 in less than a quarter of an hour of football underlines how decisive a substitute can be when the moment arrives.
Where Both Sides Stand
Real Salt Lake’s five-match unbeaten run ends here, though their record of two wins and three draws across that stretch means they remain a difficult side to beat. Inter Miami, for their part, now have one win and four draws from their last five, with this victory the only time they have taken all three points in that run. The standings context for both sides is level following this result, with no points gap recorded between them at this snapshot. For Salt Lake, the frustration is that they were minutes from adding another point to their tally. For Miami, the reward for persistence is maximum. Two goals in two minutes, after eighty of resistance, is the kind of win that can shift momentum heading into the weeks ahead.