Inter Miami CF head coach Javier Mascherano said his players showed soul and fight to come back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to draw 3-3 against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night at Subaru Park.
Lionel Messi helped inspire the rally with a spectacular free kick and an assist on the tying goal for a team that has been trying to get out of a recent funk that included losses in five of the past seven games.
“I think we showed character, personality. It was another difficult start of the game for us because in the beginning we conceded the goal and the situation that we are in when you concede it’s difficult, you know, because you start to think that you have to come back again,” Mascherano said. “But the guys showed a lot of character. They showed that they want to fight to get out of this situation.
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“I think we showed that we have soul and we have to fight.”
Despite entering the match trying to turn things around, Miami struggled to contain the Union early in the game and the hosts took a 2-0 lead into the break. Mascherano tried to rally his team at halftime, urging players to forget about the consequences of a negative result and focus on tactics.
“I told them at halftime that we are in a situation that is s—. And the only way to see the sun is to give everything, and forget the result,” Mascherano said. “The result is my fault, it is my responsibility. They have to play because football is a game and we have to play.
“I said, ‘Play, don’t think about the result.’ The result is the coach’s fault, the responsibility of the coach. But we want to have the ball, to move the ball to one side, to the other side, try to play on the opposite side. This is for me the way to start a game, winning games and be in a good dynamic. So I try to translate it because it’s the only way. We cannot be worried about the result. We cannot be worried. It’s about playing the game.”
Tadeo Allende led the comeback, scoring in the 60th minute, but the Union restored their two-goal advantage minutes later with Tai Baribo’s second strike of the night. Miami captain Messi kept his team in the game with a stellar free kick from the top of the area for the team’s second goal.
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Telasco Segovia then scored the final goal of the night — with Messi assisting — in second-half stoppage time to secure the Herons’ point.
Mascherano, however, emphasized the team were unlucky in that the Union’s third goal should have been called offside.
“We were not lucky because the third goal of theirs was very clearly offside,” Miami’s coach said. “It was very, very obvious that the third goal was offside. I don’t know why. Where is the VAR? What were they doing? Because it’s very clear.
“We cannot watch it on our tablet because we have a tactical camera, but the lateral camera is very clear.”
The Herons return to action Wednesday night with a home game against CF Montreal at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Christmas Wonderland throws big ‘Noche Buena’ party in Miami-Dade
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — There is a park — that aims to please both adrenaline junkies and fans of colorful lights — open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Miami-Dade County.
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There is a special for four tickets for about $100 on the “Noche Buena Party” in Miami-Dade’s Westchester neighborhood.
Admission includes unlimited rides from 4 p.m. to midnight at Tropical Park, at 7900 SW 40 St.
The Local 10 News Weather Authority meteorologists don’t expect rain on Wednesday night in the area. The probability of rain on Thursday is low.
For more information and tickets, visit this page.
More on Christmas in Miami-Dade
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Local 10 News Afternoon Weather Edition: 12/24/25
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Magdala Louissaint
Magdala Louissaint joined WPLG in August 2025 and is thrilled to call South Florida home.
Andrea Torres
The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.
Doug Myers is a digital content producer for CBS Texas. A longtime journalist, Doug has worked for four newspapers in Texas and Louisiana and for three television stations in Texas. He has also spent time as a digital content manager for a national trade association and as communications director for a state agency.
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A London‑bound passenger was arrested Monday at Miami International Airport after federal officers found more than 130 pounds of vacuum‑sealed marijuana – 60 bundles in all – packed into two suitcases, authorities said.
Begum Mulazimoglu, 22, of London, is facing a first‑degree felony charge of trafficking in cannabis after she was taken into custody before boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow Airport, according to an arrest affidavit. Mulazimoglu appeared before a judge on Tuesday.
Suitcases flagged during outbound check
Begum Mulazimoglu, 22.
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Miami-Dade Corrections
The Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office said a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer flagged two hardsided suitcases during an outbound inspection after detecting a strong odor of marijuana.
According to authorities, Mulazimoglu claimed ownership of the bags and had about $1,000 worth of U.S. and British currency – $330 in U.S. dollars and £530 in British pounds (about $713 USD) – in her possession.
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Affidavit details marijuana discovery
An arrest affidavit said Homeland Security Investigations notified the Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office after the passenger was detained with the two marijuana-stuffed suitcases at the airport.
An X‑ray scan revealed 60 bundles, 30 in each suitcase, weighing a combined 59.74 kilograms (131.7 pounds), along with two Apple AirTags hidden inside, the affidavit said. The bundles were sealed in black nylon vacuum‑packed bags.
Federal prosecution declined
An Assistant United States Attorney declined federal prosecution, according to the affidavit.
The Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office was notified, and Mulazimoglu was provided a meal before being taken into custody and transported to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The property was impounded at Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
Item 1 of 5 A resident stands in an apartment building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 23, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
[1/5]A resident stands in an apartment building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 23, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Broad Russian attack follows Miami peace talks
Ukraine says western regions hit hardest
At least three killed, including child, Kyiv says
Poland scrambles jets
KYIV, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Russian missile and drone attacks killed at least three Ukrainians including a child on Tuesday, triggering widespread emergency power cuts and prompting neighbouring Poland to scramble jets.
The attacks, days after another round of U.S.-led talks to end the nearly four-year-old war, hit energy facilities in western regions the hardest, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
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Poland, a NATO member bordering western Ukraine, said Polish and allied aircraft were deployed to protect Polish airspace after Russian strikes targeted areas near the border.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had targeted at least 13 regions as Ukrainians prepared to celebrate Christmas with their families in an attack that showed Russian President Vladimir Putin was not serious about peace talks.
“Putin still cannot accept that he must stop killing,” Zelenskiy wrote on X. “And that means that the world is not putting enough pressure on Russia. Now is the time to respond.”
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YOUNG CHILD KILLED
A four-year-old child was killed in the central Zhytomyr region, another person in Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine and a third person outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where local officials said at least five were also wounded.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had attacked Ukrainian energy and military facilities and captured two villages along the front line in Ukraine. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv, which often disputes Russian reports of territorial gains.
Moscow has stepped up strikes on Ukrainian energy and logistics to boost pressure on Kyiv as it seeks to alter the terms of a U.S.-backed peace deal. Ukraine has targeted Russian energy exports.
A Ukrainian overnight drone attack sparked a fire at an industrial facility in Russia’s southern Stavropol region, the region’s governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, said. Authorities also reported a fire at the fuel oil supply pipeline at the port of Taman in Krasnodar region, saying it had been put out.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 635 drones and 38 missiles, most of which had been downed.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said all regions were experiencing emergency power outages, adding that nearly all consumers in the western Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi regions were without power early on Tuesday.
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Critical and energy infrastructure was damaged in the northern Chernihiv, western Lviv and southern Odesa regions, local authorities said. Private energy firm DTEK said one of its thermal power plants had suffered damage.
Weekend peace talks in Miami brought together U.S. officials with Ukrainian and European delegations, alongside separate contacts with Russian representatives, as Washington tested the scope for a settlement.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede its eastern Donbas region and significantly restrict its military capabilities before it stops fighting, terms which Zelenskiy has rejected.
Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Dan Peleschuk; Writing by Lidia Kelly and Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Michael Perry, Philippa Fletcher
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