MIAMI.- He Inter Miami won its first victory of the season by winning 4-2 over the Orlando City SC this Sunday in a vibrant match played at the Inter&Co Stadium, in Orlando, with a double from the star Lionel Messi.
The DT Javier Mascherano made an early adjustment in the second half by entering the young Matthew Silvetti instead of the defender Noah Allena tactical variant that sought greater offensive depth.
“We have a team with great players and when they infect each other, what happened tonight happens,” Mascherano said at a press conference.
“I was not helping the team as a coach, more than anything I provided a message of encouragement and that it really is possible, last year we turned around results that seemed impossible.”
Maximiliano Falcon assumed leadership of a line of three defenders, with Facundo Mura projecting from the right and the Brazilian Michael driving the exit through the left sector.
The game had a difficult start for Miami, which suffered two defensive errors that ended in goals for the rival team in its first shots on goal.
The German Marco Pasalic He opened the scoring in the 18th minute after a service from the Colombian Ivan Angulowhile the Argentine Martin Ojeda He completed a wall inside the area to beat the goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
Until that moment, Miami’s defensive performance was irregular, with five goals conceded in just over one game played in the tournament.
“We adjusted some things,” added the ‘Little Boss’. “We started playing one on one with a line of three and looked to create spaces in the middle for Leo.”
The “Herons” pinch themselves
Silvetti, who arrived with a sprained ankle and without the possibility of completing the 90 minutes, surprised with a powerful shot from outside the area in the 48th minute and ignited the hope of a comeback.
Inter Miami began to control possession and impose the pace of the game, although it continued to show spaces in defense.
Mascherano’s bet paid off when Messi took advantage of a rebound and, with a left-footed shot in the 57th minute, equalized the score.
“Leo is the best who played this sport, he is a leader and infects others, many times he also has to be infected and see things on the field to start believing,” said Mascherano.
At the celebration, Messi pointed to the stadium box where he was Sergio Reguilonleft back recovering from a right knee injury.
The standout play of the night came with the Venezuelan Telasco Segoviawho, after an offensive effort by German Berterame On the left side, he took a precise shot off the post to unleash euphoria among the nearly 300 Inter Miami fans who traveled to the game.
In the 90th minute, Messi completed the double with a free kick that had the collaboration of the goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
With this result, Messi reached 79 goals in 90 games with the South Florida team.
Inter Miami added its first three points of the tournament and is in seventh place in the Eastern Conferenceled by New York Red Bulls as the only team with two victories in its first games.
