Ghanaian winger Joseph Paintsil expressed his team's frustration at missing out on a victory in their opening Major League Soccer (MLS) match but remained optimistic about their overall performance.
Paintsil's Los Angeles Galaxy drew 1-1 against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in front of a packed Dignity Health Sports Park.
The Galaxy took the lead with a penalty converted by Dejan Joveljic in the 75th minute, with Paintsil earning the penalty in his debut game for the team. However, Messi equalized deep into injury time, securing the draw.
Reflecting on the game in a post-match interview, the 26-year-old highlighted both the positives and negatives of their performance.
"We're disappointed with the draw, but we're satisfied with the style of football we played," Paintsil said in a post-game interview.
"It's disappointing that we couldn't secure the three points we needed for a strong start to the season. However, there's still hope. We did a fantastic job. It was just a matter of luck that Messi scored the final goal."
Galaxy's next match is against San Jose Earthquake on March 3 in the MLS regular season.