Three Up, Three Down: It’s hard to find bright spots in Inter Miami’s 5-2 loss at Atlanta

Three Down

Robert Taylor, D

The Finn, just back from international matches in Kazakhstan and his home country, put in an anonymous 67 minutes before being relieved by Nico Stefanelli. I haven’t been thrilled with Stefanelli, either, since his return from injury, but maybe Tata should have considered starting the Argentine over the jet-lagged Taylor.

Yeah, I agree with Ken here. Taylor seemed to be struggling to find his feet after the flight from Finland. Stefannelli certainly wasn't great, but he may have been a better starting option for Inter Miami due to Taylor's apparent jet lag.

Deandre Yedlin, D+

Another underwhelming performance for Yedlin, a sometimes U.S. international and the Herons’ captain with Messi out. DeAndre contributed very little on offense or defense, but I was most disappointed in his lack of leadership. He is supposed to be one of Miami’s veteran leaders, not one of the emotional boys.

I've come to expect more from an experienced veteran like Yedlin. All but one of the last 11 matches have I continued to be disappointed. He didn't provide much in attack and certainly didn't help on defense.

Gerardo Martino, D+

Coach Martino gets a “down” vote not for sitting Messi and Alba, which I understand is necessary from time to time, but for being so thoroughly outcoached by Gonzalo Pineda and failing to ensure his side retained its poise through adversity. Martino is a very good coach, but he knew for at least two days he’d be without Messi and Alba. He has to do better adapting to his stars’ absence.

I, like Ken, can't fault Martino for not playing Messi or Alba. In his shoes, I wouldn't either. But with both playmakers out, you have to adjust your plan on both sides of the ball and Martino didn't. It almost seemed like the team came in expecting to throw this match away and look forward to what's left on the schedule.