Inter Miami squandered their chance to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, falling 2–1 to Nashville SC on Saturday evening.

The Herons comfortably defeated B.J. Callaghan’s side 3–1 at Chase Stadium last weekend. All Inter Miami needed to do was collect another victory in Game 2 and they would win their first-ever MLS Cup playoff series.

Yet two first-half goals from Sam Surridge and Josh Bauer stunned the visitors at GEODIS Park. Lionel Messi tried to rally a comeback with a stunning strike in the 89th minute, but Inter Miami ultimately could not find the answer against a disciplined Nashville defense.

Now, the Herons find themselves in an eerily similar situation to their short 2024 postseason run. Inter Miami won Game 1 last year as well before losing Game 2 and Game 3 to crash out of the MLS Cup playoffs.

With Game 3 coming next weekend, the pressure is on Messi and co. to right their wrongs from 2024 and finally get over the line in the postseason.

Inter Miami Player Ratings vs. Nashville SC (4-4-2)

Luis Suárez
Luis Suárez was off the mark in Game 2. | Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Rocco Ríos Novo—6.0: Made a costly mistake in the early stages of the match that immediately put his team at a disadvantage, one they could not overcome.

RB: Ian Fray—6.8: Won the most duels in the match, but with little to show for it.

CB: Maximiliano Falcón—7.3: Needed De Paul to track back and cover for him on numerous occasions. Falcón never truly looked settled.

CB: Noah Allen—6.3: Yanked at halftime after an unconvincing 45 minutes. Allen managed zero tackles and had multiple blunders with the ball at his feet that put Inter Miami in precarious situations.

LB: Jordi Alba—7.0: A bright spot for Inter Miami. Alba created the most chances in the match and looked dangerous every time he touched the ball in the final third.

RM: Tadeo Allende—6.3: Poor finishing was once again the story of his night. Allende will rue his missed effort from close range that could have turned the tide of the game.

CM: Rodrigo De Paul—7.6: Was given little support in the midfield and virtually none on the counter attack. De Paul could not play his best game because he was covering for his teammates.

CM: Sergio Busquets—7.3: Forced to drop back and play as a center back for much of the night to help his backline defend.

LM: Baltasar Rodríguez—6.1: Failed to get involved in the match. Rodríguez managed just 10 passes and 18 touches in 54 minutes on the pitch before coming off after seemingly picking up an injury.

ST: Lionel Messi—7.6: Uncharacteristically quiet. Messi found himself having to drop deep just to get on the ball. Apart from his last-gasp goal, the Argentine’s flashes of brilliance were snuffed out by Nashville.

ST: Luis Suárez—6.4: Had the chances, but could not finish in an underwhelming performance when the Herons’ needed his most.

Subs not used: Oscar Ustari (GK), Gonzalo Luján, Marcelo Weigandt, Tomás Avilés, Yannick Bright, Allen Obando, Fafà Picault.

Nashville SC (3-4-3)

Starting XI: Joe Willis; Jeisson Palacios, Walker Zimmerman, Josh Bauer; Andy Najar, Patrick Yazbek, Edvard Tagseth, Matthew Corcoran; Alex Muyl, Sam Surridge, Hany Mukhtar.

Subs used: Jacob Shaffelburg, Ahmed Qasem, Bryan Acosta, Teal Bunbury.

Inter Miami Player of the Match: Lionel Messi

Player of the Match: Josh Bauer (Nashville SC)

Nashville SC 2–1 Inter Miami—How It Unfolded at GEODIS Park

Jordi Alba
Jordi Alba was a lone bright spot for Inter Miami. | Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images

The Herons’ dominance from Game 1 was nowhere to be found upon the opening whistle in Nashville. Inter Miami quickly found themselves on the backfoot of a heated, rainy clash at GEODIS Park.

It took only six minutes for Callaghan’s side to carve the visitors open. Surridge made a run in behind Inter Miami’s high line and was through on goal when Rocco Ríos Novo took him down inside the box with a clumsy challenge.

A lengthy VAR review confirmed the penalty, and Surridge converted from 12 yards out to put Nashville up 1–0.

Mascherano’s men grew into the game and looked destined to bag an equalizer in the 18th minute. Rodrigo De Paul played a brilliant through ball to find Luis Suárez, who effortlessly rounded Nashville goalkeeper Sam Willis before sending a strike from a narrow angle at a gaping goal. Except the woodwork denied the Uruguayan.

Inter Miami and Nashville went on to trade blows, but both sides lacked the end product necessary to get on the scoresheet until Bauer found the back of the net next on the brink of halftime. The defender, who only played four minutes in Game 1, cleaned up a sloppy defensive sequence from the Herons to double his side’s lead.

Mascherano’s men came out of the tunnel with their sights set on goal. Inter Miami completely pinned Nashville inside their own half, claiming all the momentum at GEODIS Park without anything to show for it.

In fact, it took the Herons 66 minutes to record their first shot on target in the match. Jordi Alba found Suárez with a brilliant cross from the left flank, but the No. 9 saw his effort from close range stopped by Willis.

The visitors finally found their long-awaited breakthrough on the cusp of stoppage time through their captain. Messi produced yet another moment of magic in a pink shirt, carving enough space inside the box to fire a left-footed strike into the top corner.

The goal, though, was not enough to rally a comeback for Inter Miami.

Nashville SC vs. Inter Miami Halftime Stats

Nashville SC vs. Inter Miami Full Time Statistics

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inter Miami Player Ratings vs. Nashville SC: Playoff Demons Haunt Herons.

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