Inter Miami boss Phil Neville has admitted that he hopes his team’s last in-house friendship will have given the team the training reinforcement they need ahead of the season opener against LA Galaxy on Sunday.
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The club suspended four pre-season friendly matches in recent weeks for various reasons, including scheduling conflicts and COVID-19 issues, and they are set to start the new season without playing a friendly match against a single MLS opponent.
Impecable finish from Robbie Robinson ?? ft️ ft the best hype man el Pipa Higuaín pic.twitter.com/lshwlW7Pep
– Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) April 11, 2021
Their last warm-up game came in the form of a friendly group on Sunday, where a team of projected entrees came up against a reserve page that also featured Neville’s son Harvey, who is on books at Manchester United but received permission from the club to attend.
After the game, Neville revealed to the Miami Herald that he was happy to see his players take a step closer to full fitness.
“It was more about the physical side than what I saw from a technical point of view,” Neville said of the game. “I wanted them to have 90 minutes under their belt.
Just seven days to meet you at #DRVPNKStadium at our home opener? pic.twitter.com/fE8hSHWRqQ
– Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) April 12, 2021
“It’s no secret that we’ve been quite unlucky with games being interrupted, so I wanted to get 90 minutes on my feet. That was the main focus, because I do not want us to take part in the game next week and be physically short.
“Ultimately, we will find out next Sunday how ready we are physically,” he said. “The situation has gone out of our hands, we have tried to be positive about it, and that is no excuse. We’re ready to play LA Galaxy and are physical enough to play them. ”
Among the more notable takeaways from the game was Neville’s use of 2020’s first overall pick Robbie Robinson. Mainly a striker, the 22-year-old was placed on the left wing in a forward line that also included Gonzalo Higuain, Lewis Morgan and midfield compliments by Rodolfo Pizarro.
“Robbie had a great preseason,” Neville said. “One thing I identified really early on is that we need more goals, so what Robbie is giving us is a real attack threat along the left side.
Un 10 de nuestro 10 @Rpizarrot #InterMiamiCF | #DRVPNKStadium pic.twitter.com/RgntXNNbmi
– Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) April 12, 2021
“The combinations of Rodolfo sometimes falling in and Robbie going higher and Gonzalo sometimes falling in, we have really good combinations with Lewis who plays a little wider on the right side.
“I am very happy with both Robbie and Rodolfo, who is a great player and as we approach the games I see him call it a bit.”
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