Mascherano Lauds Suárez’s Attitude After Inter Miami Victory
Inter Miami CF coach Javier Mascherano highlighted Luis Suárez’s reaction to being benched in the Eastern Conference semi-final victory against FC Cincinnati. Mascherano stressed that it was not an easy decision to leave Suárez out of the starting eleven. Inter Miami defeated Cincinnati 4-0, with Mateo Silvetti in the attack in place of Suárez, a formation that Mascherano tested for the first time in the last match of the first round series against Nashville, when the Uruguayan striker was suspended.Suárez entered from the bench in the 76th minute, replacing Tadeo Allende, who scored two goals that night. Silvetti also scored, and Lionel Messi contributed with a goal and three assists. Mascherano praised all the players in the squad for the victory, which secured the team a place in the Eastern Conference final for the first time in the club’s history. Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas commented that the team played as expected against Cincinnati, achieving a dominant victory and keeping a clean sheet. Mas added that he believes the team is on the right track to win the franchise’s first MLS Cup. Messi continued his excellent form in the playoffs and, with his goal and three assists on Sunday, became the leader in goal contributions in a single postseason in MLS history with 12 (six goals, six assists), surpassing the record of 10 set by Ante Razov with the Chicago Fire in 1999. Inter Miami will now face the winner of the Eastern Conference semi-final between Philadelphia Union and New York City FC.“I don’t like to single out individual players, especially on a night like this, where I believe the team is the one that comes out stronger, the team as a whole, and when I talk about the team, I’m talking about all the players, not just the 11 who started,” Mascherano stated after the match. “Clearly, for me, it’s not an easy decision when you have to take out a player like Luis, with his career, with the importance he has for the team and the club. But I must also say that it’s admirable how he handled the decision because we talked about it during the week, he understood, he helped his teammates, he trained in the best way, he was always supportive.”
Javier Mascherano
