DC United will face the Inter Miami in the MLS where Lionel Messi will not play after a muscle injury who suffered against Nashville. The DC coach acknowledged that there are players who are relieved that he will not be in the game.
“Probably half of our group or at least part of our group says that now we don’t have to worry about someone of that level be in the game this weekend,” acknowledged DC United coach Troy Lesesne in a press conference at the team’s training fields.
“And then,” he added, “there is another part of the group that probably wanted me to play to test themselves and our club against the best of all time.”
Messi was substituted with discomfort in the round of 16 match of the Concacaf Champions League won this Wednesday by Inter Miami against Nashville SC 3-1 and their coach, Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, warned that he will surely not play on Saturday.
DC United is undefeated after three dates with two draws and one victory, located in sixth place in the Western Conference.
Lesesne assured that Messi’s absence “allows the players to not focus so much on someone who has that level of talent,” but he also said that DC United’s focus during the week of preparation has not revolved around the Argentine star.
“What we have tried to do is not focus too much on Messi and ensure that we prepare in the way we need to.”, regardless of whether he plays or not. And now we obviously have to take into account that he may not play and now we can fully concentrate on how we want to approach the match” he said.
DC United players wanted to test themselves with someone like Lionel Messi
Portuguese defender Pedro Santos also pointed out that there is a “mixture” of feelings in the DC United locker room after learning that Messi will probably miss the game.
“Obviously everyone wants to play against Messi, even if he can be a threat to us.”. I think it is an opportunity for everyone to play against a great like him. In any case, we know that if he doesn’t play we have a better chance of getting the three points. I would say it’s a mix of both,” Santos said.
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