Inter Miami loses 3-0 at home to Orlando, frustrated Lionel Messi criticizes referee
Lionel Messi, growing increasingly frustrated during Inter Miami’s recent slump, left Sunday’s 3-0 home loss to Orlando City with a yellow card for the second game in a row, and criticized MLS officiating during his postgame interview.
Messi had Luis Suarez alongside him again on Sunday night, and Jordi Alba played a more attacking role for Inter Miami, but it made no difference.
Miami was shut out and dropped to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Inter Miami has just one win during the past seven games and has given up 20 goals during that stretch.
The only good news for Miami fans was that coach Javier Mascherano hinted in his pregame interview that Messi could be signing a contract extension in the coming weeks.
After the game, Messi told Apple TV: “Well, we’re in a period of bad results, but we have to keep working and thinking about what’s to come. We have three or four games to end the month and then we head into the Club World Cup.”
Asked what is wrong with the team, Messi referred to the game’s first goal, in the 43rd minute, that he said threw the team off track. He thought the goal was created with an illegal pass.
“We had a great first half [allowing one goal], we were attacking, creating scoring chances,” Messi said. “Then there was a strange play where one of their players gave the [Orlando] goalkeeper a pass and the referee said, he told me, he didn’t know the rule and didn’t see it that way.
“From there came their long pass and the goal. Sometimes there are errors in critical moments. It happened the last game, too. Not excuses, but there are always issues with referees and I think MLS has to look at some of the officiating.”
Messi was issued a yellow card for dissent in the 75th minute by referee Guido Gonzalez, two minutes after Suarez was slapped with a yellow. Four nights earlier, Messi left PayPal Stadium in San Jose, California, in a bad mood after receiving a yellow card postgame for arguing with referee Joseph Dickerson about what he thought should have been a foul called on a play during extra time.
At one point during that dispute, San Jose coach Bruce Arena stepped in and tried to calm Messi down, putting his hand on his back and guiding him away to the tunnel as Dickerson threatened to give Messi a red card.
Despite the team struggles, Messi added on Sunday night that the team remains united and they will stick together during this patch and prepare for next week’s game against Philadelphia.
“Now we will see if we are a real team in the difficult moments because when everything is going well, it’s very easy,” Messi said. “When the difficult moments arise, that is when we have to be more united than ever and push ahead.”
Mascherano agreed with Messi that the team played well in the first half, had chances, and then fell apart due to individual mistakes and momentary lapses in concentration. He said it is up to him and his staff to re-instill confidence in the team and turn things around.
“Clearly, [during this slump] something has happened where the team has lost a lot of confidence,” Mascherano said. “We have had a drop in level individually and collectively and it’s clear one way or another we have tried with different schemes, different names, and still today we are hurting. We will keep trying to find a way.”
Suarez returned to the Inter Miami starting lineup after missing two games for a personal trip. Fafa Picault, who also missed the previous two games with migraine headaches, was back on the game roster, and came on in the second half.
But the home team trailed 2-0 early in the second half after a controversial Orlando goal by Luis Muriel from a deep pass by Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese in the 43rd minute and another goal by Marco Pasalic at the 53-minute mark. And then Dagur Thorhallsson added a dagger to make it 3-0 in added time.
The Muriel goal sequence began with Gallese picking up the ball from what appeared to be a back pass from a teammate, which, if true, is against the rules. Inter Miami players certainly felt that way and argued with referee Guido Gonzalez, Jr.
Replays showed that the pass was not intended for Gallese, but instead for another teammate, who let it go, and then Gallese picked it up. Either way, Miami’s back line was caught off guard and Gallese was able to send a field-long pass to a streaking Muriel, who made the finish.
Despite possessing the ball 65% of the time, and having all its best attackers on the field, Miami failed to score. Miami took 21 shots, but only four on frame. Orlando had 16 shots, eight on frame.
And, once again, Miami’s defense was vulnerable at critical moments.
Miami conceded 17 goals over the previous six games, and Mascherano said fixing defensive lapses was a big point of emphasis in the leadup to Sunday’s game.
Coconut Creek native Ian Fray replaced Marcelo Weigandt in the starting lineup at right back. Gonzalo Lujan, Maxi Falcon, Noah Allen made up the rest of the back line and Oscar Ustari remained the goalkeeper.
Jordi Alba, who just signed a two-year contract extension through 2027, was pushed up from left back to left wing, which was intended to aid Miami’s playmaking. Alba has been known for his sprints up the left flank and his crosses throughout his career, so the move made sense.
Alba played attacking midfielder at the end of the San Jose game. Asked if he would like to play that role more regularly, he smiled and said that was a question for the coach. He added that he has always liked attacking more than defending. Mascherano made the move and explained in this pregame interview on Sunday.
“We need a little more depth on the left, so we want to give Jordi more freedom to attack, so it’s important for us to keep him as wide and high as possible,” Mascherano said. “Also, normally Orlando plays with five men in front, so in this kind of lineup we can adapt our five defenders against their five attackers.”
Mascherano discussed the significance of signing Alba to an extension and hinted that Messi, whose contract expires at the end of this year, may be next.
“To sign Jordi for the next two years is important to show stability, and hopefully, in a few weeks we can have some news about Leo,” Mascherano said. “I think it will be very, very important for the club, the fans, and for MLS.”
The rest of the starting lineup Sunday was: Messi, Yannick Bright, Sergio Busquets, and Tadeo Allende, who scored two goals Wednesday night against the Earthquakes.
Orlando City (6-2-6) extended its unbeaten streak to 11 games.
Inter Miami (6-3-4) returns to action Saturday on the road against the Philadelphia Union, which is in first place in the Eastern Conference with nine wins, three losses and two ties.
This story was originally published May 18, 2025 at 6:57 PM.