The real reason why Inter Miami lost 2-1 against Nashville SC on Saturday night

Inter Miami suffered a 2-1 defeat to Nashville SC on Saturday in the second game of the playoffs. The Herons had the chance to end it, but let the Boy in Gold live, and with chances for the third and last game of the series.

Before the encounter, reports said that Javier Mascherano would risk playing a third clash, so he would put all the sauce into that game. The truth is that, even though he put the majority of the best players in the starting lineup, it was not enough.

With the defeat, there are some questions popping into every fan's head: ¿Why didn’t Yannick Bright play? Why did he change the lineup if the other one worked? Despite every question possible, Miami is haunted by last year’s elimination against Atlanta United.

Nevertheless, here is the real reason Inter Miami lost against Nashville SC.

They don’t want to play rough

Let it hurt whoever it hurts, but this is the reality of Inter Miami every single time. The Herons are a squad that seems they be afraid of playing a little rough. It happened with Orlando City, the Seattle Sounders, and now with Nashville.

When the other team set the tone with fouls at the start of the match, Las Garzas seemed to forget that this is also a physical sport. Cause it is gorgeous when they have the ball and make those dribbles or long passes to the space and score a goal.

But the reality of the game is another one. When you can’t find Lionel Messi, your best player, you need to come up with a different strategy. The Boys in Gold learn from their mistakes and didn’t respect Inter Miami the entire game.

In the first five minutes, the rival committed many fouls and drove Miami’s players out of the game. By playing on the limit of the playbook, Inter Miami couldn’t find that many spaces on offense. However, the real problem came with the defensive part.

Inter Miami is a squad characterized by making a soft mark on its rivals. They don’t want to get physical and try to cover the passes instead of marking the player themselves.

I understand that we tried to play nice tactical soccer, but sometimes, and mainly when the other team is beating you up, you have to grit your teeth and go out there to clash, to scrap, to make life uncomfortable for the opponent the way they make you uncomfortable.

For the third match, every Inter Miami player, starters and substitutes, must go out with a knife between their teeth. Enough of getting knocked out for not getting stuck in and ending up looking mediocre.