Inter Miami Vs Lafc: LAFC brush aside Inter Miami in season opener at Coliseum
In the inter miami vs lafc season opener, LAFC upset reigning MLS Cup champion Inter Miami 3-0 in Los Angeles, turning what had felt like a Messi-centered night into a dominant home performance on Matchday 1 of the 2026 MLS season.
LAFC win 3-0 in front of 75, 673 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
LAFC beat Inter Miami 3-0 before 75, 673 fans inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the second-highest attended MLS match ever. The game had been moved out of LAFC’s usual BMO Stadium into the 100-year-old concrete Coliseum to handle the crowd, and spectators filled seats despite fewer pink shirts than expected.
Inter Miami Vs Lafc: Martínez, Bouanga and Ordaz finish the job
David Martínez opened the scoring in the 38th minute after a pass from Son Heung-min set him through, and Martínez finished the chance. Denis Bouanga doubled the lead in the 73rd minute, meeting a Timothy Tillman pass from about 50 yards and heading the ball over Dayne St. Clair into the net. Nathan Ordaz pounded home a third in stoppage time to seal the 3-0 result.
Messi drew reaction but Miami couldn’t convert
Lionel Messi attracted a reaction every time he touched the ball, but Inter Miami—despite having the ball—failed to produce the goals. The visitors, the defending champions, looked like a team aware the season is long and the World Cup clock is already ticking; the goals never came for Miami.
Beckham’s message and Miami’s immediate schedule
David Beckham, one of Inter Miami’s co-owners, had publicly urged supporters known as La Familia to back the club, saying, “It was always our dream to be MLS Champions, but we are hungry for more and can’t wait to start our title defence today. ” Miami had flown to the West Coast after a three-match preseason tour of South America and traveled to face an LAFC side featuring Son Heung-min, Denis Bouanga and Stephen Eustáquio, the longtime Portuguese top-flight midfielder. This meeting marked only the fourth clash between the clubs since Miami joined the league in 2020 and the start of a budding rivalry between Son and Messi, the two-time defending MLS MVP.
Dos Santos and Bouanga on performance and mentality
LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos praised his team’s defending, saying, “[Inter Miami] put us [under] a lot of pressure, but we defended really well, ” and adding that he didn’t think they conceded big chances while grading the defensive part of their game an A+ and possession a B. Denis Bouanga, who celebrated Martínez’s progress, said postmatch that they need to push Martínez on the field because he has quality and “last year is not the same to this year, and he knows. ”
What the win means next for Miami
Miami faces three more MLS road matches next: Orlando City, D. C. United and Charlotte FC, before beginning Concacaf Champions Cup play on the road in March against either Nashville SC or Canadian Premier League champions Atlético Ottawa in Fort Lauderdale on March 18. Miami will start the Concacaf tie away, with the second leg scheduled to take place at Chase Stadium. Club co-owner Jorge Mas has already targeted the Concacaf Champions Cup after MLS commissioner Don Garber awarded MLS Cup in December.
LAFC’s compact, patient approach—absorb, disrupt and frustrate—worked: Son’s support unlocked Martínez’s opener, Bouanga met a long Tillman pass with a brilliant finish, and Ordaz closed the scoring in stoppage time. Next on the calendar for Inter Miami is the trio of away MLS fixtures followed by the March 18 Concacaf slot that will determine their early continental path.
