Inter Miami claw back from the brink with stunning rally | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

How grim was Inter Miami CF’s situation midway through their Matchday 15 visit to the Philadelphia Union?

Comprehensively out-fought and out-hustled in the first 45 minutes, the Herons were trailing the league-leading Union 2-0, staring at the further extension of a 1W-5L-1D slump dating back to their devastating Concacaf Champions Cup setback at the hands of Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Thus Javier Mascherano’s halftime message was laced with equal parts urgency and scatological profanity.

“I talked to them in the halftime that we are in a situation that is s--t, s--t. We are in the s--t,” IMCF’s head coach colorfully explained to reporters postgame.

“And the only way to see the sun is give everything. Forget the result. The result is my fault, is my responsibility. They have to play. They have to play because football is a game and we have to play, play. Don’t think about the result.”

Messi-led comeback

It took time, painstaking resilience, some non-clinical finishing from Philly and multiple moments of trademark individual brilliance from Lionel Messi. Yet even after conceding yet again to MLS Golden Boot frontrunner Tai Baribo to find themselves down 3-1 with barely a quarter of an hour left in the game, Miami dug deep and found a response.

After Tadeo Allende's close-range header on the hour mark gave the visitors hope, Messi dragged his side back into striking range at 3-2 by earning, then converting a viciously struck free kick from just outside the penalty box. That in turn opened the door for substitute Telasco Segovia to lash a 95th-minute equalizer after some relentless work in the buildup from the GOAT, snatching a chaotic 3-3 draw from the jaws of defeat.

“We showed character, personality,” said Mascherano. “It was another difficult start of the game for us, because in the beginning, we concede the goals, and the situation that we are in, when you concede, it’s difficult, you know? Because you start to think that you have to come back again.

“But the guys showed a lot of character. They showed that they want – they want to fight, to take [control] of this situation. So at the end, also we are not lucky, because the third goal of theirs is a very clear offside. So we are in a situation, in a bad dynamic, but with a lot of spirit to come back to be the team that we were in the beginning of this season.”

WATCH: Lionel Messi! The GOAT scores a stunning free kick

Game of the year vibes

Like so many of their matches over the past two years or so, this was a result that reflected the Herons’ persistent tendencies towards riveting drama, for better and for worse, which so often tends to bait opponents into track meets that leave the door open for Messi’s creativity to tip the scales.

“I think everyone saw a little bit of everything tonight,” said Philly coach Bradley Carnell after this tenacious, mostly end-to-end slugfest, which his side could’ve salted away with even marginally better finishing precision, such was their volume of opportunities against IMCF’s rickety back line.

“We dominate in many ways, and then also allow an opponent who on paper has world-class quality, we allow them at certain points to get back in the game. It’s a game where if we take our chances, I think the scoreline’s even bigger in our favor than the 3-1 scoreline would’ve indicated … [but] you can never quite shut them down for 90 minutes.”

Messi-era Miami’s chronic difficulties with defensive fundamentals have underlined them time and again in big moments, from two unsuccessful ConcaChampions campaigns to last year’s Audi MLS Cup Playoffs disappointment. Yet even after all that, one adversary after another has let them hang around, and eventually paid the price.

“Today, I think we showed that we have soul and heart to fight,” said Mascherano, who repeatedly declared his conviction that Baribo’s second strike should have been waved off. “So this is the way. Obviously, we have to improve a lot of things. We cannot concede every single corner, every single throw-in, give to the opponent chances to score. We have to start more focused in this kind of situation. But at the end, I think we did everything to win.”

Fight the good fight

Having been subjected to criticism of his tactics, personnel and general performance over the past month, Mascherano himself made some key moves.

The Argentine tweaked his team’s tactics and positioning to gain some purchase in the face of the Union’s tigerish press, and was clever to adjust the Herons’ left flank, pushing Jordi Alba higher and more central while versatile homegrown Noah Allen drifted wide, not just to cover for the Spaniard but to roam forward himself, as he did to deliver the cross headed home by Allende.

IMCF will play two more league games next week, CF Montréal and Columbus Crew, both at home, before embarking on their FIFA 2025 Club World Cup adventure. Mascherano, however, pointedly dismissed any idea of looking ahead, mindful that sixth place in the Eastern Conference is well short of what’s required.

“We have to recover from the situation in MLS, do it on Wednesday and on Saturday,” he said in Spanish. “This is our situation, clearly, then we'll focus on the tournament. But it would be irresponsible for us to start focusing on that.”

WATCH: Game of the year?! Miami, Philadelphia slug it out in six-goal thriller