Inter Miami, without Messi, falls 4-1 to Orlando City, slips in standings

Miami Herald

a day ago

Inter Miami rode the Brightline train to its Sunday game against rival Orlando City, so it was only fitting that Yannick Bright scored the team's lone goal in the early minutes.
But things got dark after that as the men in pink, playing without captain Lionel Messi, were trounced 4-1 in an important Eastern Conference game. And, it could have been worse had a few of Orlando's shots not clanked off the post.
Inter Miami slipped from fifth place to sixth with 11 games remaining, while Orlando leapfrogged Miami into fourth place. The top seven earn automatic playoff berths.
Miami has 42 points with three games in hand and sits nine points behind leader Philadelphia and seven short of second-place Cincinnati. Orlando has 44 points.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano did not mince words after the defeat.
'When you are not at 100 percent, any team can expose you, and [Sunday] there was only one team on the field, Orlando,' Mascherano said. 'We did not play with the intensity that was needed for this game and clearly, they were superior from the first minute until the last.
'It's very painful. It leaves us thinking that if we realistically want to compete, this is not the way. I am the most responsible because I am the coach. I don't have much else to say.'
Mascherano added that a crowded schedule was no excuse because Orlando also played a Leagues Cup game on Wednesday night.
'Futbol is about tactics, organization, and talent, but it's also that in 1 v 1's, I am better than you and having the hunger and desire, and sadly, we did not have that. It bothers me a lot.'
Orlando fans delighted in the lopsided win, especially after having beaten Miami 3-0 at Chase Stadium in May.
'Florida is purple! Florida is purple!' they fans chanted midway through the second half. And by the closing minutes, they were taunting Miami with 'Na-na-na-na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye.'
Miami was eager to avenge that May defeat against its intrastate rival on Sunday night but got off to a horrible start after a costly turnover that left Miami's back line vulnerable. Muriel took advantage of the lapse and got past Ian Fray for the low finish.
Bright had a fantastic first-touch finish from the top of the box three minutes later to level the game at 1-1, which remained the score at halftime.
It was the first MLS goal for Bright, the 23-year-old Italian defensive midfielder, since he joined the league last year as an unknown draft pick from the University of New Hampshire.
Bright roared, 'Vamos!' as the Miami bench erupted. But that was the last time they celebrated all night.
Inter Miami came out flat in the second half against a fired-up Orlando team, gave up another goal by the Colombian Muriel in the 50th minute and a third by Martin Ojeda eight minutes later. Ojeda, Orlando's Argentine No. 10, has 14 goals and 14 assists this season.
Luis Suarez made a heady play that nearly closed the gap for Inter Miami midway through the second half. Noting that Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was far off his line, Suarez lofted the ball high, but just before it went into the net, Gallese raced back, leaped, sacrificed his body and swatted it over the bar. Gallese went down and sought medical attention but eventually stood up and kept playing.
Miami's Argentine No. 10, legend Lionel Messi, did not travel to the game. He returned to training late this week after a minor hamstring injury, but was not quite game-ready, according to Mascherano.
Messi is expected to return to the lineup either for Saturday's home game against the Los Angeles Galaxy or the Leagues Cup quarterfinal against Tigres on Aug. 20.
Inter Miami lost 3-0 to Orlando at home in May, and since then, had lost just two of 16 games, and one of those was to Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup. Mascherano's team overcame its spring funk and reached the knockout round of the Club World Cup and the Leagues Cup.
'We have a long week to think about what happened [Sunday night],' Mascherano said. 'To be honest, as the coach and leader of this team, it hurt me a lot for us to give that performance. We have to remember this game as a reminder that when we take our foot off the accelerator, any team can beat us. We can't let this happen again.'