Inter Miami has opened up on squad rotation amidst Lionel Messi's absence in their 1-1 draw against DC United in the MLS on Saturday. He said that he wanted to give an opportunity to other team members as well.
Lionel Messi was sidelined due to an injury as Inter Miami faced DC United at Audi Field in Washington on Saturday. Head coach Javier Mascherano also decided to start Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Rodrigo de Paul on the bench for the match. They ended up dropping points on the back of a 1-1 draw.
After the match, Mascherano explained his decision, saying (via GOAL):
“We’ve played 41 matches, we wanted to give other players a chance. We need the entire squad, it was a clear decision for us, and by the end of the match I believe it was the right one."
Reflecting on the match and the impact of the substitutions, i.e., Suarez, Busquets, and De Paul, Mascherano said:
“It was one half for each team. In the first half they had the intensity and we let them play. In the second half we played in their half from the start, we were the team we want to be. The substitutions helped the team. The feeling is that if we had played with that same intensity from the start, we could have won the game.”
Jackson Hopkins opened the scoring for DC United in the 13th minute before Baltasar Rodriguez restored parity for Inter Miami in the 64th minute.
Inter Miami assistant coach provided an update on Lionel Messi's injury
Lionel Messi has reportedly been carrying a leg injury for a while. He still featured off the bench in Inter Miami's 3-1 win over LA Galaxy in the MLS on August 16. However, he missed their Leagues Cup quarter-final clash against Tigres UNAL on August 20.
The Herons won the match 2-1, but head coach Javier Mascherano was sent off. After the game, assistant manager Javier Morales spoke about why Lionel Messi didn't feature in the game and said:
"Everyone talked with Leo, we’re always present. We rely on how Leo feels, and it wasn’t the best. We preferred not to take risks, not to go backward in his recovery, and to play it safe by not having him in the match."
Lionel Messi has scored 25 goals and provided 11 assists in 32 games across competitions this season. It's unclear if he will be available for Inter Miami's Leagues Cup semi-final match against Orlando City on August 27.