Inter Miami was thrashed 4-1 by Orlando City in the Florida Classic, which left Javier Mascherano with great concerns for the season.

The Argentine coach He said there was only one team on the pitch and that Inter Miami lacked intensity throughout the match. Football is easy, sometimes we make it more complex than it is. When you're not at 100%, any team can expose you. Today there was only one team, which was Orlando. We didn't play with the intensity needed to play this match,” said Javier Mascherano. Watch every Leagues Cup match with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (not Apple TV+) – Inter Miami is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points. Lionel Messi's team is 9 points off the top spot and has played three games less. They outplayed us from the first minute to the last. After the tie, we were able to even things up a little. Very hurt, very worried. But above all, it leaves us thinking that if he really doesn't want to compete, this isn't the way to go. I'm responsible because I'm the coach, there's not much to say. There was only one team on the field."

Mascherano declined to elaborate on the performance of any specific player and took responsibility for the tough defeat that keeps them, for now, away from the top spots in the conference.

"I think today the team didn't have the tone or intensity that the game needed; I don't think it was a matter of fatigue. There's no excuse; both teams were coming off the Leagues Cup. We had the same need to win." We both repeated most of the players, but there was one team that was hungrier than the other," the Argentine continued.

Javier Mascherano accepts blame for Inter Miami's performance

Mascherano accepted much of the responsibility for how the team played and also stressed that this match will serve to determine if they want to continue competing towards the end of the season.

"I am responsible, The one I say has to play plays, and the one I say shouldn't play doesn't. The responsibility is mine, I take responsibility. It's a game that shows us; it has to be a pivotal game between now and the end of the season, of what we want to be, whether it's what we've been or what we are today," he concluded.