After a week of training, Inter Miami will be back in MLS regular season action taking on Atlanta United FC on the road on Saturday, Sept. 19. Manager Diego Alonso is hoping to secure another positive result in the team’s third matchup of the season against the Georgia-based side, having claimed four points from the two previous matches.
"It's true that the more you play an opponent, the more you get to know them and the more they get to know you. The goal is to try to surprise them and not be surprised by them,” said Alonso. “I think we played two good matches against them both in their home and at our own. We need to repeat the good performances and try to keep showing improvements by the team."
The Uruguayan tactician also touched upon how the full week of work at Inter Miami CF Training Center benefits the players and what the team needs to continue improving on to gain the consistency it desires.
“We hadn’t been able to train normally in three weeks. This week was really good for us. We were able to work on some tactical concepts that will help us to continue growing. We hope to be able to show it over the following matches.”
“When you analyze it, the team does good things when constructing plays, when attacking, it applies good pressure and has good transitions defensively. The problem is that we need to be more consistent,” added Alonso. “We need to be consistent, to play in a determined way be it at home or away, and that takes time. We’re on that path and we will continue until we are solid, consistent and have a clear idea of our style of play.”
Meanwhile, Inter Miami defender Leandro González Pirez and midfielder Victor Ulloa both see the upcoming match as an opportunity to get a positive result and demonstrate the team’s growth.
“We’ve played them twice already and we know the type of team that we’re facing, so we’re not expecting to see any surprises there. Going into their home, we know that they’re on a bad run right now and they’re going to want to come out with a lot of intensity to win those three points,” stated Ulloa. “It’s going to be really important for us to match that game intensity, even surpass theirs, if we want to go there and get a positive result.”
“We know they are not in their best moment. We also know that we are not getting the results we want, but I think we are doing things correctly. We need to keep adjusting some things, but we’re going the right way. This match will be important for us because if we win we can go up in the table. We will go there to try and get the three points, that’s the only thing we are thinking about,” said LGP.
Ulloa was also pleased after having a full week of training for the first time in nearly a month.
“It was nice to have a normal week per se, it had been a while since we had one of those. It gives us a lot of time and space to work on things the coach wants us to do.”
“Physically we’re great. We’re ready to go, even more rested now that we had a full week to work on things. Hopefully, we go to Atlanta and get a positive result and we start gaining more momentum,” he concluded.
