Javier Mascherano and Inter Miami were handed a tough opening test to their new MLS campaign which gets underway in February.
The Herons were handed a home fixture against a tough New York City FC side, a challenging start to new manager Mascherano’s tenure.
Lionel Messi has vowed that the team will be ‘back stronger’ following their shock playoff defeat. The loss to Atlanta was called ‘one of the biggest failures’ ever seen in North American sports history.
Inter Miami started last season’s campaign with a 2-0 home win over Real Salt Lake with goals from Robert Taylor and Diego Gomez who has left to join Brighton and Hove Albion.
The club will be looking for a strong start to their new campaign but faces somewhat of a troublesome foe.
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Inter Miami’s struggles against NYCFC
Mascherano has played down Inter Miami’s chances of becoming champions this year and perhaps he is right to do so given their tough start.
The Herons, despite being regular opponents of NYCFC, certainly don’t enjoy playing the New York side.
The teams have met on 11 occasions since 2020 and the record looks rather bleak for Mascherano’s men.
Head-to-head record
- Inter Miami wins – 1
- Draws – 3
- New York City wins – 7
In the 11 games Inter Miami has scored just nine goals while their opponents have notched no fewer than 20 times.
The lack of goals could be helped if Inter Miami manage to secure the services of Celta Vigo’s Tadeo Allende while the Heron’s defensive issues have not been helped by Nicolas Freire’s exit.
Lazio’s Taty Castellanos is the top scorer in the fixture, the former NYCFC man scored four goals against Inter Miami.
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Sides evenly matched last season
Despite Inter Miami being crowned Supporters Shield winners and finishing with 24 points more than NYCFC they still couldn’t secure their second-ever win against their bogey team.
The two sides drew both games 1-1 in the 2024 campaign and more than 40,000 people came to watch in New York as Messi and Miami arrived.
Former NYCFC manager Nick Cushing explained how his side kept Messi quiet, MLS expert Matt Doyle even noted how Messi had his worst performance against Cushing’s side.
Julian Gressel revealed how Inter Miami were frustrated by NYCFC last season.
Inter Miami need to up their performances against a side who are going to be full of confidence going into the opening day of the season given their impressive record over the Herons.