Messi and Suarez: a Flashback to 2015
Gerardo "Tata" Martino, the coach of Inter Miami, highlighted on Saturday the fabulous connection between Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez in the 6-2 thrashing against the New York Red Bulls.
"Messi always makes the difference. Today, his partnership with Luis in the second half worked really well, just like in the old days. They were truly influential in the game," Martino said in a press conference.
Messi delivered a spectacular performance with five assists (a record in MLS in a single match) and a goal, while Suárez also performed sensationally with a hat-trick (his first with the Florida team).
Paraguayan Matías Rojas completed the show with a brace for an Inter Miami side that turned the game around and scored all its goals in the second half.
"The truth is that everyone had a phenomenal impact on the game, but Leo probably did something historic with five assists and a goal," Martino affirmed.
"I always say the same thing: it's redundant to talk about him (Messi) because it seems like he always does something new. If there was something missing, it was this: having an impact on all six goals scored by a team. That, wow, it's going to be difficult to see again," he added.
Martino also emphasized that Inter Miami has "many players capable of scoring goals" but needs to learn to better manage periods when the opponent dominates.
"At some point in the game, we'll find favorable moments. The issue is how we deal with unfavorable moments and ensuring that doesn't mean we always have to turn the game around because there will be times when we can't. We've been turning around adversity for four consecutive games," he pointed out.
With four consecutive victories, Inter Miami leads the Eastern Conference with 24 points after 12 matches. Cincinnati is second in that conference with 21 points after 11 matches.