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'You See Everything As Bad' - Inter Miami Coach's Fiery Message After MLS Playoff Loss

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Manuel Meza Cienfuegos | Last updated Nov 1, 2025 10:44 PM ET

Nashville SC defeated Inter Miami CF of Lionel Messi and co. 2-1 this Saturday, November 1st, in the second match of the best-of-three round in the MLS playoffs.

Sam Surridge opened the scoring in the 9th minute from the penalty spot. Josh Bauer made it 2-0 before the end of the first half. Lionel Messi gave life to his team in the 90th minute.

After the match, coach Javier Mascherano addressed the press and was forceful with his statements.

The Argentine made it clear to journalists that while they analyze the result, his job is to analyze the game comprehensively.

"You usually analyze results, I analyze the game," he said. "We will see what we have to improve, but that will be behind closed doors, surely you, as you usually analyze the result, today will see everything as bad. The team has competed."

Javier Mascherano, Head Coach of Inter Miami CF, looks on during the 2025 MLS Cup Playoff match between Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF at GEODIS Park on November 01, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Javier Mascherano Assigns Blame After Playoff Loss to Nashville In MLS Cup

Mascherano was also self-critical and recognized that his team was not able to enhance Messi during this encounter.

“We did not find Leo (Messi) in good situations in the first half, we have not been sharp in the final third, and there is also merit from the opponent,” Mascherano said. “I believe that in the second half, beyond the fact that they fell back, we found some situations.”

The Inter Miami coach pointed out that they had opportunities to get a better result, recognizing that they did not know how to take advantage of them.

“We have had situations, the match was very even. In fact, the penalty play comes from when we are pressing. After the 1-0, we had situations to be able to tie the match, but we were not sharp in front of the goal,” he added.

The third and final match of this round will be played next Saturday, November 8th, at Chase Stadium.

There, everything starts over, and previous results do not matter. The team that qualifies for the Eastern Conference semifinals will be the one that wins said match.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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