Inter Miami Collapsing at the Worst Possible Time of the Season

Inter Miami is collapsing at the worst possible moment of the season. Javier Mascherano’s team came into the match after losing to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals... and has now lost its unbeaten record in MLS this season after suffering its second consecutive defeat, this time against FC Dallas at Chase Stadium.

Total Disconnect for Inter Miami Without Its Stars

With the team’s focus already on the comeback they need to achieve against Vancouver — a team that has never lost by three or more goals in the 17 matches Jesper Sorensen has coached — Javier Mascherano opted for heavy squad rotation, which ended up impacting the team's performance. Sergio Busquets was on the bench but did not play, while Leo Messi, Luis Suárez, and Jordi Alba were not even called up.

From the opening whistle, Inter Miami was chasing the game after an early goal from Shaq Moore put FC Dallas ahead. Inter Miami responded well, coming back to lead before the 30-minute mark and extending their advantage with a goal from David Martínez early in the second half. However, they began to lose focus in an attempt to conserve energy... and FC Dallas turned the game around with three goals in just over 15 minutes, ending Inter Miami’s undefeated MLS run.

Mascherano Takes Responsibility

Amid growing concerns surrounding Inter Miami, Javier Mascherano was quick to step up and take full responsibility for the loss:
 

"Today we lost, and the first person responsible is me. I made mistakes with the second-half substitutions and didn’t help the players. We were winning 3-1 but couldn’t control the game after it became 3-2. The changes I made didn’t work as expected, and that’s something I have to own," he admitted.

With this result, Inter Miami drops to sixth place in MLS. Although they have a game in hand, they now trail the league leaders — the Vancouver Whitecaps — by five points. Mascherano also confirmed that Leo Messi and the other absent stars against FC Dallas are not injured and will be fully fit to face the massive challenge of overturning the deficit against Vancouver at Chase Stadium, as they fight for a place in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final.