Following Sunday night’s demoralizing 3-0 defeat against Orlando City at Chase Park, Lionel Messi is back to leading his club. As captain of Inter Miami, he will be hoping they continue to remain resilient and together. This defeat marked another setback for the team, which has struggled in recent matches, prompting Messi to emphasize the need for collective resilience during challenging times.
Messi spoke to the media following the game, recognizing that the team is in a tough moment and that they have fallen into a pattern of negative results. “We need to keep going. It’s a complicated time,” he stated, highlighting the urgency for the players to come together and support one another.
The defeat at the hands of Orlando City shines a light on a much more alarming trend for Inter Miami. As a result, they’ve lost five of the last seven with 20 goals against. Since their wonderful 4-1 victory at the New York Red Bulls on May 3, this team has entered a tailspin. Their performance has drastically worsened since that peak. As of this writing, Inter Miami is in 6th place in the MLS Eastern Conference standings.
Despite the struggles, Messi reminded his teammates of their capabilities, referencing their strong start to the season. He underscored the importance of collaboration, agreement and cooperation needed to ensure mutual success through this turbulent time. “We’ll all stay united. We’re a team in difficult times, because when everyone wins, it’s easy, but now that difficult times are coming, that’s when we have to be more united than ever, be a true team, and move forward, because we have what it takes,” said Messi.
He stressed that this was not the moment for players to start blaming one another. He expressed optimism about the future and hinted at a potential extension of Messi’s contract, which is set to expire at the season’s end. “When you are in this dynamic, if we each start pulling ourselves to the side it’ll be impossible to overcome the moment,” Mascherano remarked.
Messi looks forward to his next clash, a semifinal against the Philadelphia Union. Rodriguez was clear in stressing the importance of this game at Subaru Park on Saturday. Keeping spirits high, he highlighted making sure they ended the season on a positive note as a key factor. This is especially important as Inter Miami heads into the Club World Cup with only three or four matches left in May.
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