'Stubborn' Mascherano must change Inter Miami's formation, Twellman says | OneFootball

Even though Inter Miami snapped a four-match winless run with a 4-2 home win over CF Montreal on Wednesday night, the Herons' habit of conceding goals remained.

While braces from Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were enough to assure Miami a somewhat comfortable victory, manager Javier Mascherano's side still allowed multiple goals for a fifth consecutive MLS match and eighth game out of nine in all competitions.

Speaking on MLS Wrap-Up later Wednesday night, Apple TV's lead MLS analyst Taylor Twellman said Mascherano needs to make a fundamental tactical switch, or else Miami's struggles will continue when they play better squads than a Montreal side that is last in the Eastern Conference standings.

"If Mascherano changes to three in the back, they’ll make a run at the No. 1 seed in the East," Twellman said. "But he’d better do it soon. Otherwise, I think they’re barely going to make the playoffs. I firmly believe that."

Mascherano has yet to play a system with three center backs this season in 23 games across MLS league play and a run to the Concacaf Champions League semifinals.

Previous manager Tata Martino also played four in the back in the majority of his games at the helm last season but did go with a three-back setup five times in the regular season and once in three playoff matches. Atlanta won three of those matches and lost three.

The ugly totals

Miami's defensive form was actually quite good early in the season when they allowed only six goals through their first eight league fixtures. But it has eroded suddenly and drastically, with Mascherano's squad now up to 27 MLS goals conceded and on pace to let in 61 for the season, 12 more than last year's total.

"They give up chances to anyone and everyone, and Mascherano is so stubborn with the tactical setup, they don’t have a chance," Twellman continued. "If you start a game with Messi and Suarez and (Sergio) Busquets, right down your spine, you’re immediately starting with three players that will not be that aggressive on the defensive side of things."

After crashing out of the Champions Cup semifinals in a 5-1 aggregate defeat to the Vancouver Whitecaps at the end of last month, there is concern that the Herons could be embarrassed in their upcoming 2025 Club World Cup group games against Al Ahly, FC Porto and Palmeiras in June.

"The Club World Cup could be a real struggle for them, and it could blow up in their face, and then all of the sudden that summer transfer window comes, they might have to really figure it out," Twellman said. "I just think Mascherano needs to change the way he’s looking at the tactical setup. It would make them a little bit better defensively."