Miami boss Mascherano explained reason behind Messi not playing against Charlotte

Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said Sunday that he decided not to give playing time to Leo Messi in the match against Charlotte because “the best thing was to preserve him” due to his overload, after the hard-fought 1-0 victory at home in which the Argentine star was on the bench for 90 minutes.

“In the case of Leo, perhaps we had thought at some point in the game to give him playing time, but the way the game went, with a man down, and taking into account the time he has not played, we thought it was best to preserve him and not take risks in that case,” said Mascherano in the press conference after the match.

Inter Miami played with 10 men from the 38th minute due to the red card shown to Argentine goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, but still managed a valuable 1-0 win with a goal by Argentine Tadeo Allende.

“There is no better feeling than winning like this. When the team plays well and scores a lot of goals we are all happy, but I give great value to the effort made by the players, to the way they gave their all, and above all to the organization we had defensively,” said Mascherano.

Messi missed his third consecutive game due to an overload. His team beat Houston Dynamo 4-1 and Cavalier 2-0 in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League round of 16, before the win at Chase Stadium against Charlotte. The No 10 has 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games played this season.

“I'm convinced that the season is going to be decided on the defensive side. It's very easy to say it. It has to be done. By having a defensive organization you shrink the margin a lot,” he said, reflecting on his perception of MLS.

Inter Miami will travel to Jamaica next week to play the second leg of the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League against the Cavalier.