Orlando City plays Inter Miami, without Messi, to a 0-0 draw

ORLANDO, Fla. — Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made three saves Wednesday night for his second clean sheet of the season as Orlando City and Inter Miami played to a 0-0 draw at Inter&Co Stadium.

The result kept Orlando City undefeated against Inter Miami (3-0-5 across all competitions) at its home stadium. Orlando (3-5-4) is 1-3-3 at home this season.

The draw also snapped the Herons' winning streak at five. Inter Miami (8-2-4) was looking to become the third team since 2019 to win six regular-season matches in a row in the same season.

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi did not play because of what was listed as an unspecified left leg injury, so he still has not played in a Major League Soccer game in Orlando. Messi played the entire game Saturday despite a first-half injury scare. He briefly left that game late in the first half after some sort of issue with his left knee after being fouled by defender George Campbell.

Herons goalkeeper Drake Callender also had three saves for his second clean sheet of the season.

Even though the Herons led the possessions at 58.7%, the Lions took 14 shots on goal, compared to seven for Inter Miami. 

Luis Suarez, who scored a brace against Orlando earlier this season, had a good scoring opportunity in the opening three minutes, but it was saved by Gallese.

Callender made a diving stop of Martin Ojeda’s shot in the 32nd minute to keep it scoreless.

"It was a very level game. I thought we found two teams that had options," Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja said. "Both could have won it, at the beginning or scoring at the end of the game. Throughout the game, we had our options, too. It seems we had a sensation that we could have walked off the field with three points. But I recognize it was a tight game for both teams. The effort from the players was extraordinary, and they keep adapting to new things. I’m good with the performance of the team. I’m good. I think we’re going in a good direction; I think we’re turning things around. We played against a good team who has good momentum, but today we could have walked off with three points.”  

Orlando City has a quick turnaround for its next match. The Lions travel to San Jose, Calif., to face the Earthquakes at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.