Inter Miami were beaten 2-1 in their visit to Atlanta United with a goal from Xande Silva in stoppage time, which extended the playoff series to a third game to decide the ticket to the next round, in which if all goes according to plan, the Herons will be able to recover Sergio Busquets.
The Spanish midfielder was missed by Inter Miami, after missing the match due to the onset of pneumonia and a knock, but coach Gerardo Martino is confident of having him back for next Saturday’s decisive match.
“He had a problem because of a knock in the last game and he had the beginnings of pneumonia, he had a fever and did not train all week, today he was better,” Tata Martino revealed about the state of Busi, who hopes to have him back for the decisive match they will play at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Martino trusts Inter Miami’s hierarchy to eliminate Atlanta United
Although Inter Miami received a heavy blow at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Gerardo Martino trusts in the hierarchy of his players led by Lionel Messi, to get through the series against an Atlanta United team that has history with Tata, who led them to win the MLS Cup in 2018.
“We have the advantage of hierarchy in the team with many players who have been through much more difficult situations than this, although we would have liked it to end today. We are very frustrated with the final result,” said Tata Martino in the press conference after the match.
For Martino, the MLS playoff rules are unfair with a format in this round that the ticket is obtained by the best of the three games, which allows to advance without having to win a single game.
“It doesn’t seem fair to us that Orlando, without losing, can be left out. It’s fine to give opportunity to teams that accessed the postseason from further down, but it’s also true that it’s not right for a team that doesn’t win to eliminate one that did win a game,” said the Inter Miami coach, who acknowledged that they did a lot to deserve to win, but admitted that they were not accurate in front of goal.
