Lionel Messi and Inter Miami face an early season derby test when they host Florida rivals Orlando City in Major League Soccer on Saturday. Messi’s stoppage time equalizer in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at the Los Angeles Galaxy ensured that Miami remain unbeaten after opening their campaign with a 2-0 win at home to Real Salt Lake. Despite the results, Miami failed to impress with their veteran-laden squad struggling for large stretches of the game in LA. Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez looks well short of match fitness while Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, who has been dealing with an ankle injury, has also been less than his best.
“We started well, with the result we wanted. On Sunday we wanted to win, but the tie was just. It was not our best game,” Busquets said.
“At the start of a season, it’s always difficult. We still have to get adjusted, await injured players to recuperate, hopefully we can play well this Saturday at home in the Clasico.”
Busquets said that Suarez, the 37-year-old Uruguayan and former Barcelona and Liverpool striker, needs to be given some time to get up to speed after joining the club from Brazilian team Gremio, for whom he scored 17 goals last season.
“It’s a new league. We all need a period of adaptation,” the Spaniard said. “Not just him, but all of us as a team. We are changing, fixing things, some things left to improve.”
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