The Inter Miami boss hailed his club over their late comeback to earn a point on the road against the league leaders
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Inter Miami draw Philadelphia Union 3-3Late Messi goal inspires late comeback now winless in seven of last eightGet the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowWHAT HAPPENED?
Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano praised his club for showing "soul" and "fight" in rallying from a 2-0 halftime deficit to draw 3-3 against the Philadelphia Union Saturday night.
An 86th-minute Lionel Messi free kick brought them within a goal before the Argentine set up a late equalizer in the fourth minute of stoppage.
"I think we showed character, personality," Mascherano said. "It was another difficult start of the game for us because in the beginning we conceded the goal 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 to fight to get out of this situation.
"I think we showed that we have soul and we have to fight."
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Even with the result, the are winless in seven of their last eight across all competitions. For the third-straight game, they conceded three goals.
"I told them at halftime that we are in a situation that is sh*t. And the only way to see the sun is to give everything, and forget the result," Mascherano said. "The result is my fault, it is my responsibility. They have to play because football is a game and we have to play.
"I said, 'Play, don't think about the result.' The result is the coach's fault, the responsibility of the coach. But we want to have the ball, to move the ball to one side, to the other side, try to play on the opposite side. This is for me the way to start a game, winning games and be in a good dynamic. So I try to translate it because it's the only way. We cannot be worried about the result. We cannot be worried. It's about playing the game."
Winger Tadeo Allende scored their first goal, before Telasco Segovia bagged the equalizer in stoppage-time. For Philadelphia, Quinn Sullivan opened the scoring before MLS Golden Boot leader Tai Baribo scored their and second and third of the match.
Mascherano said Philly's third goal should not have counted.
"We were not lucky because the third goal of theirs was very clearly offside," he said. "It was very, very obvious that the third goal was offside. I don't know why. Where is the VAR? What were they doing? Because it's very clear. We cannot watch it on our tablet because we have a tactical camera, but the lateral camera is very clear."
DID YOU KNOW?
Inter Miami played the Union earlier this season at home, and claimed a 2-1 victory. In their two matches this season, they've secured four points.
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MIAMI?
Miami report to the pitch midweek for a match against CF Montreal as they look to return to winning ways. MTL sit 29th in the Supporters' Shield standings, but have recently secured results against NYCFC, the Columbus Crew and LAFC.
