Lionel Messi was back in Inter Miami’s starting XI to face New York City FC on Saturday, yet the Argentine, and the Herons, struggled greatly at Yankee Stadium.
The Eastern Conference side got the better of the Florida franchise as James Sands scored a 95th-minute equalizer to ensure the points were split in the Bronx, with Messi suffering potentially his worst game yet for Inter Miami since signing.
Although Inter Miami still lead the Supporters’ Shield race by six points with four games to go, Saturday’s draw was a huge blow for Tata Martino’s side in their quest to break the MLS regular season points record, with ten points needed to make history.
And New York City manager Nick Cushing has now shared how managed to stop Inter Miami and Messi in the Big Apple.
New York City targeted Inter Miami beyond Messi
Speaking to TalkSport, the former Manchester City coach highlighted how New York City were able to stop Messi by pressing the rest of Inter Miami, with Cushing saying that limiting the space was key to stopping the Herons from running riot.
Cushing said: “It’s incredibly difficult when you play a team of their level. They’re running away with the MLS currently, and for us, it was about reducing the spaces and the amount of time that they get to impact the game. We’re a high-pressing team and we like to press really hard. We like to try and turn our the defensive side of our game into our attack.
“We reduced Messi one touch in the box, Suarez three shots in the game. we defended the game really well, which gave us the opportunity to get something out of it. They’re top, top players, but for us, it’s about I think it’s a team game. Messi, in particular, I’m sure every coach has tried to do something individually on him, and he is somebody who can outplay that.
“So for us, it was about defending as a team to make sure that we control the game defensively, whether we’re low or whether we’re high. We like to be aggressive and on the front foot, that really worked for us in this game.”
New York City’s plan to stop Messi worked to a tee
Few MLS clubs have managed to give Messi as bad a time as New York City did, yet Cushing’s tactics coupled with the awkward Yankee Stadium field managed to do just that.
Messi, even with the Argentine providing a hockey assist for Leonardo Campana, endured a game to forget for Inter Miami as the 37-year-old never really got going with opportunities limited against New York.
And Cushing can feel proud about how his side went about taking on the Greatest of all Time and coming away with his head held high, with Messi unlikely to experience a game as badly as what he went through on Saturday in MLS.