Toronto FC put an end to Lionel Messi’s scoring streak as Inter Miami had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the MLS encounter between the sides on Sunday.
Tadeo Allende’s opener was cancelled out by Dorde Mihailovic as Messi’s run of five goals in three games came to a halt.
“I think we deserved to win, we had the most real chances during the game, maybe we had 10-15 minutes in the second half that we were in a bit of confusion, but at the end we had the game under control,” Mascherano said.
“I think their goalkeeper was the man of the match.”
“It’s hard because we came here to win. We wanted to go up in the standings but we have to move forward. We have more four games, so we will try to win all the games and try to finish as high as possible,” the Argentine
added.
Despite the 38-year-old creating several promising opportunities, an outstanding performance from Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson thwarted him from continuing his recent goal streak.
Miami, having already secured their postseason spot, looked set for all three points at BMO Field after Tadeo Allende headed in a Jordi Alba cross during first-half stoppage time, putting Inter 1-0 up.
However, Miami’s weak defence was once again exposed in the second half, leading to a series of errors that allowed Djordje Mihailovic to score a close-range equaliser in the 60th minute, making it 1-1.
Miami pushed relentlessly for a winner, but Johnson made two excellent saves to deny Messi’s attempts.
Messi continues to lead the MLS scoring charts with 24 goals in 23 matches.
Inter coach Javier Mascherano stated that Toronto goalkeeper Johnson was the difference between the two teams.
The draw leaves Miami in third place in the Eastern Conference with 56 points, four points behind leaders Philadelphia, but with a game in hand.
