With Messi out, Orlando drops Miami to 6th in rout

ORLANDO, Fla. — Luis Muriel scored a goal in each half and Martín Ojeda had a goal and an assist to lead Orlando City SC to a 4-1 victory over Inter Miami CF on Sunday night.

Miami star Lionel Messi did not play because of a leg injury he sustained last Saturday in a Leagues Cup match against Necaxa.

“Today there are no excuses. Football is about tactics, organization, talent, but you also know that in one-on-one situations, they were better,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “And having the hunger and desire that you’re not going to beat me, and today we clearly didn’t have that. We didn’t have that.

“Unfortunately, it hurts me a lot because afterward, let’s say, in football, you can either lose or you can be beaten, let’s say, but I think today the team didn’t have the intensity that the game needed.”

Muriel scored in the second minute to give Orlando City (9-6-8) a lead that lasted only three minutes after Yannick Bright scored unassisted for his first career goal in his 40th appearance to pull Inter Miami (12-5-6) even.

Ojeda collected his 13th assist on Muriel’s goal, extending his club-record streak with a goal contribution to 14.

Orlando City took a 2-1 lead five minutes into the second half on Muriel’s eighth goal of the season.

Ojeda found the net for the 14th time this season to give Orlando City a 3-1 lead in the 58th minute. His 27 goal contributions lead the league.

Marco Pašalić scored unassisted in the 88th minute for a three-goal advantage. It was his 10th goal in his first season in the league.

Pedro Gallese totaled four saves in goal for Orlando City, including a brilliant save from a long-range Luis Suárez shot that the home keeper just managed to tip over the crossbar.

Óscar Ustari turned away eight shots for Inter Miami.

As Miami tried to mount a comeback, it looked short of answers without Messi, whose 18 goals have come while playing in 18 of his club’s 23 matches.

“Football is easy. Sometimes we make it more complex than it is,” Mascherano said. “When you’re not at 100%, any team can beat you, and today there was only one team: Orlando. We didn’t even play with the intensity needed to play this game, and they clearly outplayed us from the first minute to the last, due to some passages after the goal.

“We were able to tie the game a little, but it leaves us thinking that if we really want to compete, this isn’t the way. I’m sorry, but this isn’t the way. Clearly, I’m responsible, because I’m the coach, but there’s not much to say. There was only one team on the field.”

Orlando City moved into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, with head coach Oscar Pareja needing one more victory to reach 100 across all competitions.

Inter Miami sits in sixth place but has three matches in hand against the top four and two in hand against the fifth-place Columbus Crew.

Inter Miami hosts the LA Galaxy on Saturday, and Orlando does the same against Sporting Kansas City.

ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.