Goals from Juan Brunetta and Juan Pablo Vigon sealed a 2-1 victory for Liga MX giants Tigres UANL over Inter Miami in Leagues Cup group stage action at NRG Stadium.

How the game unfolded

Miami started off on the front foot, peppering shots in at the legendary Nahuel Guzman’s goal — but the veteran shot-stopper kept the Herons’ attempts out with ease. Tigres then broke the deadlock 18 minutes into the first half through midfielder Juan Brunetta.

The 27-year-old pounced on a defensive error by Miami’s Tomas Aviles, who was attempting to clear the ball into Matias Rojas’ path down the right-hand side. Marcelo Flores anticipated the move and intercepted Aviles’ pass, playing a quick header to Brunetta, who then headed it to Nicolas Ibanez. Ibanez returned the favor, allowing Brunetta to hit a first-time volleyed strike into the far corner.

While the strike itself was an absolute beauty, Drake Callender was caught off guard and could have been positioned a little better to give himself a chance at keeping out Brunetta’s effort.

The Herons kept fighting throughout the rest of the first half and into the second half, looking to put the game on level terms. It wasn’t until the 72nd minute that Miami would have the chance to do just that, as Marcelo ‘Chelo’ Weigandt sent in an inviting cross that Leo Campana would’ve sent home if he wasn’t pulled down in the box by Guido Pizarro.

Miami were awarded a penalty, and as Campana won the penalty, he stepped up to fire home a left-footed effort into the top corner to level the score. Even without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, the Herons were still hanging in there with one of the best sides in North America.

However, Tigres would go on to find the winning strike in the final minutes of regulation. Substitute Juan Pablo Vigon found himself with plenty of space inside the Herons’ penalty area after a botched clearance by Serhiy Kryvtsov, and the 33-year-old midfielder took a touch before firing a shot in off the crossbar to put Tigres back in front 2-1.

The win meant that Tigres topped East Group 3 with six points after wins against Miami and Puebla while Miami had already secured qualification to the Leagues Cup knockout stage before the match, but the defeat saw them drop to second in the group.

GK: Drake Callender – 6/10 – Not the best positioning on Brunetta’s stunning strike. Not much he could’ve done on Vigon’s winning goal.

RB: Marcelo Weigandt – 6/10 – Displayed strong link-up play down the right-hand side with Campana and Gressel.

CB: Tomas Aviles – 7/10 – Solid outside of his poor attempted pass to Rojas that led to the opening goal.

CB: Hector Martinez – 7/10 – Stood tall and defended valiantly alongside Aviles.

LB: Jordi Alba – 6/10 – The veteran full-back sent in a sizzling strike from outside the box that was destined to reach the back of the net before it was deflected over by a Tigres player.

CM: Matias Rojas – 6/10 – The Paraguay international didn’t get many looks in front of goal but he played his part in connecting the backline to the frontline.

CM: Yannick Bright – 7/10 – Shined throughout the match in the middle of the park in place of Busquets, who was given a breather and was on the bench to start the game.

CM: Federico Redondo – 7/10 – An improved showing from the young midfielder after he struggled last time out against Puebla.

RW: Julian Gressel – 6/10 – Teed up Campana for a great chance early on but didn’t really do much outside of that.

ST: Leo Campana – 8/10 – Started strong in the early going and really came alive in the second half as he tucked away his penalty attempt to level the score. Campana helped kickstart counter-attacks but was often let down by his teammates in the final third.

LW: Robert Taylor – 6/10 – It was a quiet first half from the Finland international who also wasn’t able to get much going in the second 45.

Substitutes

SUB: Sergio Busquets (69′ for Bright) – N/A

SUB: Franco Negri (69′ for Alba) – N/A

SUB: David Ruiz (69′ for Gressel) – N/A

SUB: Leo Afonso (69′ for Taylor) – N/A

SUB: Serhiy Kryvtsov (81′ for Martinez) – 5/10 – The veteran defender’s weak clearance in front of his own goal led to Vigon’s strike, a brutal moment for Kryvtsov after his return from injury.

Manager

Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino – 6/10 – It wasn’t a bad performance by any means from Miami, especially when you consider they were up against one of the tournament favorites without a few important players. However, Miami still have one of the strongest squads overall and perhaps could’ve done a little more to really put the pressure on Tigres.