New England revolution x inter miami cf

Inter Miami CF cast a damper on the New England Revolution's Supporters' Shield festivities with a 1-0 Decision Day victory at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. Blaise Matuidi scored his first goal of the season on a deflected effort. Matuidi's goal 13 minutes after halftime gave Miami some consolation points after they were already out of contention for a position in the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Despite being outplayed in the run of play and in chances created, the visitors kept the Revs from adding to their MLS-best 73 points this season. New England also lost out on being the first team to win 23 games in the post-shootout era, as well as seeing manager Bruce Arena pass the late Sigi Schmid for the most regular-season managerial victories in MLS history.

Arena may have to wait for history to repeat itself, but this setback will serve as an excellent teaching opportunity about the lack of margin for error in a single-elimination playoff structure. New England had a 16-7 advantage in shots and a 2.4-to-0.7 advantage in expected goals produced. However, if they repeat this lack of ruthlessness in the Eastern Conference Semifinal later this month, they may find themselves out of the playoffs.

[Photography by ICONIC photographer Cameron Kincheloe]