It was a moment to savor for fans around the world and to feel a certain empathy for the defenders rendered in the process.
In this case, it was Lucas Sanabria and Edwin Cerrillo who suffered – “posted”, to borrow a term from the NBA – while Lionel Messi returned from an absence of two weeks in a characteristic way.
Coming at halftime after missing the last two inter Miami games with a problem with the hamstrings, the goat was educated around the duo to lead a low trade shot, then fed Luis Suez a defeat of another world without look from the Galaxy to the Chase Stadium on Saturday evening.
The 45 -minute camée won the taste of Florida derby on Sunday 4-1 which beats in the hands of Orlando City, inspired its teammates – Suárez and Jordi Alba, the other BIM marker, looked devastating at night – and put the Herons back on the upper part of the standing.
Miami is just hair back from the leaders of the East Conference and Shield Races of the supporters when calculated on average per game to reflect BFIs games in hand because of their FIFA World Cup participation, and even if they were a powerful force without Messi, the power of his presence remains palpable.
“It was vital, I think we are all aware of this,” said head coach Javier Mascherano in Spanish after the match. “I’m going to repeat what I said last Sunday: you can lose games, clearly, but that’s not the image or the way we want to lose (in Orlando). We wanted to show ourselves that it was an accident, an aberration.”
Short -lived return?
Perhaps the most remarkable, it is not quite clear that Messi is really, really back from the injury.
The Argentinian icon seemed to grim a little after marking his game winner, slightly promoting this disturbed right leg – enough for journalists to hurry Mascherano several times for more information on the status of the Talisman before an end of the Cup of the Lourdes with the season of the Mexican Titans season, a Uanl).
“What is happening is that he is an extraordinary player,” said the coach of his former teammate when asked what would happen next. “What you saw, I saw. Obviously, it was not 100% comfortable. But the truth is that, after a few minutes, it has become more loose and loose. We will see how he finished, how much fatigue.
“In the end, he was two weeks after the injury. He had something minor; the three teams we had with him were good. And I repeat: the important thing is that he finished the match; I saw him improve through the minutes. He felt, he looked better. But in the end, that’s what he feels tomorrow, how he wakes up.”
End of season version
Wednesday is looming as an excessive occasion not only because of the trophy, the money price and the CONCACAF champions cut on the Legues Cup line, but also because of the caliber of the opponent. The tigers are the Liga MX royalty, stacked with elite talents and well paid to inflict misery on the MLS teams over the years. Miami would surely prefer Messi to be available for such an intimidating test.
But many other tests are also awaiting it, especially if they are seriously defense of their shield title. The Herons must fly to the north towards Washington for a weekend visit to DC United (7:30 p.m. and MLS season pass), then travel for three of their five games in September.
“Every match we have is a final from now on,” said Mascherano. “I have to generate the habit that each match from now on until the end of the regular season is life or death. We have to win; If we have to lose, the opponent must really work for this, not to be given to him on a silver set. ”
And in this context, Mascherano could deserve almost as much sympathy as the above -mentioned defenders in a mixer. Because it is his work to tell the star man when it is time to rest or to be turned with the long term to the mind.
“He wants to play every match,” said Mascherano with a small shift in shoulders and a tired smile. “He wanted to play Orlando too. It was impossible. But that’s how it is. You must understand why Leo is Leo; Because (he) always wants to be on the ground. He is happy there.
“So sometimes we try to explain to him, (we try) to go slowly. But in the end, when he feels good, he knows himself like no one (others). So we tried to give him a few minutes to start finding a good feeling for the week, for Wednesday, for the next games.”
