February 16, 2020.

Inter Miami CF played their first ever match in club history yesterday as they faced off against the Philadelphia Union in a friendly at Al Lang Stadium in Florida. New signing Rodolfo Pizarro, who arrived to Miami on Thursday after a $12M move from Monterrey, scored the club’s first official goal in the 33rd minute of play. Unfortunately for Inter Miami, though, their debut match ended 2-1 in favor of the Union.

Philadelphia opened the score in the 19th minute through Sergio Santos, who only had to tap the ball into the net after a great set-up by Brenden Aaronson.

In the 31st minute of play, Rodolfo Pizarro came into the match as a substitute. Two minutes later, the Mexican international found the back of the net to open his scoring account with Inter Miami.

With Pizarro expected to carry Miami’s goalscoring load this season, his performance on Saturday should be a good sign for the future.

The match remained level at 1-1 until the 86th minute, when Matej Oravec rifled in a thunderous half-volley from the top of the box to make the game 2-1 for the Union.

Inter Miami were unable to equalize in the final minutes of the game, and the match ended 2-1 in favor of the Philadelphia Union.

On February 22nd, Inter Miami will play the Tampa Bay Rowdies in their second and final match of the 2020 Suncoast Invitational. Miami will look to close out their preseason with a victory before they make their MLS debut against LAFC on March 1st.



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–Photography by Nick Pecori

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