What’s wrong with Inter Miami? Lionel Messi and MLS Cup favorites have looked short of their best in the playoffs so far

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The Herons were poor against Atlanta in Game 2, and are now in danger of suffering an early exit from MLS playoffs

Well, that wasn’t supposed to happen. Inter Miami were supposed to make easy work of Atlanta United Saturday, beat the Black and Red on the road, and give themselves two-plus weeks of rest before returning to action for the Eastern Conference semifinals. At which point they would, presumably, stroll through the rest of the playoffs, ease past everyone else, win their first MLS Cup, and allow Lionel Messi to get his hands on trophy number 47.

Of course, soccer is rarely that simple.

The jeopardy in this sport comes from an inherent uncertainty. And despite Miami’s glittering regular season, there is always a chance – in MLS, at least – that something could go wrong. Still, despite those caveats, Tata Martino’s side really should be making this a whole lot easier. After beating Atlanta in the first game, they lost the second – and never really looked convincing over the course of 90 minutes.

Instead, this looked like an outfit searching for answers, stretched thin on the road, and, ultimately, uncertain in an atmosphere that was far more hostile than some might have expected (even the pink Messi shirts that dotted parts of Mercedes-Benz stadium were drowned out by the Black and Red of the home support.)

And so this will need a Game 3 to settle things, the full might of MLS’s oft-maligned playoff structure used in full. Miami will still be favorites here, but there are some serious questions to be asked, as a team that looked so dominant in the regular season are showing an air of vulnerability when the stakes are at their highest.