Javier Mascherano admits he got it all wrong after Inter Miami’s humiliation

Inter Miami is out of the Supporters' Shield race after their disappointing defeat against the Chicago Fire. At least, the Herons made a good action yesterday; they handed Chicago their first playoff qualification.

Before the encounter, Las Garzas were the clear favourites to win the game. The bets have Inter Miami on a 68% chance of winning this game.

However, the clash showed the opposite. Javier Masherano had shown himself to be more mature with his tactics. Knowing Inter Miami’s immense flaws, the Argentine coach's tactical plan for Tuesday night was never going to work.

Everyone knows that Chicago Fire benefits from their rivals' mistakes and, after recovering the ball, they turn into a vertical and quick counterattack.

Putting both fullbacks in the attack all the time only left the Fire with plenty of space to use. They did, and that’s why the Herons lost by five.

Javier Mascherano took full responsibility for the tactical approach against the Chicago Fire

In the after-match press conference, Mascherano said something that is key to sum up the reason why Inter Miami lost so badly: “We prepared for one type of match, but it turned out to be something completely different.” Adding, “In this game, the person responsible for the plan and everything that happened is me.”

As a professional coach with more than two years of experience working with teams, this can’t happen. You should be able to adjust and correct the mistake.

But that didn’t occur, and throughout the whole 90 minutes, the Fire found spaces and time to play in the wings.

After the first two goals, Mascherano should change the lineup into a scheme for five defenders and drag Sergio Busquets out of the midfield into the defensive line.

That way, you let Jordi Alba and Marcelo “Chelo” Weigandt be free to help in the attack, with a minimum risk in the back. With a three-center-back tactic, when Lujan or Aviles closed the fullback's space, you have Busquets to help and cover the rest of the space until Alba and Weigandt returned to position to help.

What you can take away from this defeat is the coach’s self-criticism. Another manager might not have taken responsibility for a poor game plan, and nothing would have changed.

However, by admitting his mistake, he guarantees that something will change for the next match to make sure this humiliation doesn’t happen again.

There is still hope for Inter Miami.