Miami's Unlucky Seven; Will Thirteen Change Their Fortunes?

Heading into their 13th MLS game of the 2025 season, the Herons have been in a skid. Miami has lost 4 of their last 7 matches in all competitions, with 2 wins and a draw. Sunday night at Chase Stadium, a tough Orlando City squad comes to town to face a vulnerable Inter Miami team that has given up 17 goals during that 7 game stretch. Can Miami turn things around against its state rivals and return to its winning ways? Before we preview Orlando City, let’s look back at the Herons’ last 7 matches.

A 3-3 draw that feels like a loss..#InterMiamiCF is struggling to find its best form & Mascherano is struggling to find his best 11…The season is on the brink …#Messi #InterMiamiCF pic.twitter.com/M2rzdZTj1w

— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) May 15, 2025

Unlucky 7

On April 19th, the Herons traveled to Columbus and came away with a 1-0 win. The victory was fool’s gold because Miami was outplayed by the Crew. Columbus had ample chances to get on the scoreboard, but they were bad with their finishing, and Miami was effective. This match would have easily finished 3-1 in the Crew’s favor. It was a sign of things to come.

The Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Miami 2-0 in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions semifinal matchup. Vancouver was compact defensively and exploded on the counter to give the Herons fits. The Whitecaps’ blueprint to success would be used again by others when facing Miami.

After leading 3-1 on April 27th versus FC Dallas, Miami fell apart and lost 4-3 at home. A young, rotated squad flew out to the big league but when Mascherano decided to make substitutions to manage the lead it backfired on him. The players that came in could not maintain the lead and Miami collapsed. Mascherano’s prints were all over this loss with his untimely substitutions.

Vancouver dominated Inter Miami in their stadium, knocking them out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a resounding 3-1 win. The Whitecaps were compact once again, and their pace on the counter was too much for Miami to handle. Vancouver demonstrated that they are the best team in MLS at the moment.

Inter Miami CF stopped the bleeding temporarily with a 4-1 win over the NY Red Bulls. Mascherano switched the formation to a 4-4-2 to allow Suarez and Messi the chance to roam closer to the NY goal. Suarez, Messi, Weigandt, and Picault scored, with each playing a good match.

Minnesota United took a page out of Vancouver’s book and routed the Herons 4-1 in Minnesota. Messi and the boys looked stunned at Minnesota’s speed on the counterattacks. Minnesota stayed compact versus Miami and forced them to play wide and away from the middle of the pitch. This disrupted Miami’s flow with the ball, and their porous defense allowed Minnesota to have a field day.

San Jose came into the match as one of the highest scoring teams in MLS, but also as one of the squads that concedes the most goals. Inter Miami took advantage of the Quakes’ defense and scored 3 times. Unfortunately, Miami’s defense has been terrible lately, and San Jose was able to score three goals, too. Oscar Ustari had his worst game as a Heron, but Tadeo Allende showed he can play striker after scoring a brace, and Telasco Segovia looked very comfortable in the central midfield role.

Mascherano & #InterMiamiCF need to bounce back in a big way tonight 🆚 San Jose..The fans are restless & #MLS teams are losing respect by the minute… A statement win is of the utmost importance, a loss would be disastrous for coach & team…#Messi
pic.twitter.com/ph6ELFhZ7C

— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) May 14, 2025

Lucky 13th?

Inter Miami’s 13th MLS game of the season is against its biggest rival, Orlando City. The Lions are unbeaten in their last eleven games in all competitions, and look to make it 12 games. Miami is hoping for its 13th MLS game to be one where the team can balance a strong attack with stout defense.

Orlando City has 4 key players that Miami must keep under control if the Herons are to have a good defensive performance.

(Martin Ojeda): Ojeda is playing at an MLS MVP candidate level, with 8 goals & 3 assists. Ojeda is the Lions’ most dangerous player, and the Herons need to know where he is on the pitch at all times. Mascherano’s midfield selection of players will be huge in determining whether Miami can smother Ojeda.

(Luis Muriel): Muriel is finally playing at DP level for Orlando. He has 5 goals & 3 assists so far and is in better form than at any point last season. Muriel is a dangerous player, and Miami must be compact to contain his strong dribbling. The Herons need to maintain possession of the ball and make him work tracking back defensively, he doesn’t love defending.

(Marco Pasalic): The German forward has 5 goals & 2 assists on the season. He’s a part of Orlando’s four-headed monster attack and another player to watch for Miami. Mascherano has his work cut out for him trying to come up with tactics and a formation against the Lions.

(Alex Freeman): The youngest of Orlando’s four main offensive weapons, Alex has 3 goals and 1 assist, mainly as a right wing-back. His speed and dynamic athleticism cause havoc for opponents left defensive flank. Jordi Alba and the whole left side of Miami’s squad will have to work diligently to avoid 1v1 situations with the speedster.

The Herons haven’t had much luck in their last seven matches in all competitions, but Sunday night, they look to turn their fortunes around in their 13th MLS game against rivals Orlando City. Miami’s and Mascherano’s luck is either going to change or run out Sunday night.