The 20-year-old midfielder overshadowed the likes of both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in the Eastern Conference showdown
A moment of brilliance from U.S. international Benjamin Cremaschi was all that separated the Columbus Crew and Inter Miami Saturday afternoon, as the came away with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Wilfried Nancy's men. In a battle between the two lone unbeaten MLS teams through Matchday 8, the South Beach side came out on top – despite a relatively dominant performance from Columbus.
Miami are now the last unbeaten team in the league, with Saturday marking the first loss of the campaign for the Crew – despite a record home crowd of 60,614.
A first-half diving header from Cremaschi, delivered off a stupendous cross from Marcelo Weigandt 30 minutes into the match, was the lone goal – despite numerous attempts from each side. The majority of the game was with the ball on the feet of the Crew – Nancy's team had 59.6 possession and Miami barely found themselves with it at their feet.
Two key opportunities for Columbus, a wide-open shot from Diego Rossi and a header from Jacen Russell-Rowe, were some of their best chances. But the Crew lacked a clinical final touch all match. They created chance after chance, but only managed a mere three shots on target despite 15 total shot attempts. Miami had just two on target off of six attempts.
In second half stoppage-time, Hungarian forward Daniel Gazdag had a fantastic chance to draw level, but his brilliantly-timed run ended with a wide-open shot slipping off his boot and dragging wide. The new $4.5M forward couldn't prove to be the difference.
Lionel Messi, meanwhile, was kept quiet all evening long by MLS veteran and standout midfielder Darlington Nagbe. The former U.S. international was the best performer on the pitch and barely let the Argentine out of his sight. Luis Suarez, too, lacked influence in the game.
A standout performance from Cremaschi at the No. 10 earned Miami three points, while some terrific defensive play from the likes of Sergio Busquets, Noah Allen and Gonzalo Lujan helped protect the lead.
GOAL rates Inter Miami's players from Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Oscar Ustari (6/10):
Very composed under pressure, played his line well and his positioning was spot-on throughout the match.
Marcelo Weigandt (6/10):
Fantastic assist for Cremaschi's goal, but was exploited defensively on more than one occasion.
Gonzalo Lujan (7/10):
Slid into a central role with ease. Looked composed and as if he belonged.
Noah Allen (7/10):
Not a center-back by trade, he was very composed and rarely found himself committing a mistake. A very well-rounded performance.
Jordi Alba (7/10):
So, so smart off the ball. Positioning throughout the evening was stellar, and he was one of Miami's best attacking threats.
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Yannick Bright (6/10):
Struggled to win or maintain possession in the middle of the park, but was constantly breaking up Columbus attacking opportunities.
Sergio Busquets (7/10):
Tasked with playing a very defensive game, he held his own against Darlington Nagbe – which is all you can ask of him in that scenario. Good performance.
Benjamin Cremaschi (8/10):
Incredible header for Miami's opener. Was terrific all match, and a physical presence that caught Columbus off guard.
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Tadeo Allende (5/10):
A few decent chances, but he was never on the same page as Suarez or Messi. Lacked urgency and quick wit on the ball.
Luis Suarez (4/10):
Was removed early in the second half after struggling to make any sort of impact. He struggled to keep up with the tempo of the match.
Lionel Messi (5/10):
Relatively quiet, he had some truly impressive moments on the ball, but his usual impact was missing. An unusual showing from the maestro – a testament to those defending him.
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Maxi Falcon (N/A):
Locked in once introduced. Played just 13 minutes, but helped secure the clean sheet.
Telasco Segovia (6/10):
Relatively nonexistent despite logging 22 minutes + stoppage.
Tomas Aviles (5/10):
Played as a midfielder, he was a liability once brought on to the game.
Fafa Picault (N/A):
Helped stretch the game late on the counter, but was not on the pitch long enough to make a lasting impact.
Javier Mascherano (6/10):
Defensively, Miami were resilient, composed and fantastic off the ball. However, they lacked an idea going forward, and struggled with maintaining any sort of possession beyond 10 or so passes. Mascherano couldn't figure out how to get by the Crew defense, or find a way to get Nagbe off of Messi. It's a massive result for Miami, but the Argentine was outcoached by Nancy.