Javier Mascherano had few complaints after his star-studded Inter Miami roster was well beaten by the Vancouver Whitecaps in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Former Barcelona quartet Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba all played but were unable to prevent the Canadians from winning 3-1 on the night and completing a resounding 5-1 aggregate win.
⚠️⚠️⚠️ pic.twitter.com/CLtm4MoPcg
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) May 1, 2025
Messi has now gone four games without a goal while Miami have lost three straight.
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Mascherano admits anguish at defeat
“It hurts because we wanted to reach the final. That would have placed the club in a very important position. Still, we have to accept that they were better,” said Mascherano.
“We know Inter Miami has won the League Cup, but the most important tournament in the region is the CONCACAF Champions Cup. But sometimes you have to accept that the opponent has the hierarchy and has surpassed us. They surpassed us.”
Having lost the first leg 2-0, Miami required a fast start in the return and got it when Alba put them ahead. They were unable to find a second, though, and Vancouver eventually got on top in the second half.
Brian White equalised after 51 minutes and Pedro Vite’s goal two minutes later effectively put the tie beyond the Floridians.
Sebastian Berhalter added gloss on a wonderful night for the Whitecaps with 19 minutes remaining.
Mascherano added: “We were one goal away from tying the series and what we pretended to do is have a long game. The hardest part was done, which was to score the first goal. But this is football, especially in a semifinal.
“Two or three errors against a good opponent, obviously good because they reached the semifinal, but they end up hurting you and end up sentencing with the tie. It was pretty clear today.”
One more to go 🌊#VWFC | #ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/2GQiu4bASF
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) May 1, 2025
Focus returns to domestic action
Miami remain at home and take on the New York Red Bulls in MLS on Saturday night.
“We need to improve, we have to look forward, we need to learn from this and the last week,” said their Argentine coach.
“Today the feeling is really, really bad. The last three games we’ve lost, we concede a lot of goals that we didn’t in the past.
“We now have to keep focusing on MLS. I don’t think ahead to the Club World Cup because we are a month and a half away. Now it’s time to focus on MLS. We’ve been competing in two competitions for two and a half months, and we did it well.”
Vancouver march on and will face either Tigres UNAL or Cruz Azul in the final on June 1.
They will have to do without the influential Berhalter, however, who will miss the game through suspension having been yellow-carded against Miami.
