The past week and a half has been a rollercoaster for Inter Miami fans, who have seen their promising start to the season turn turbulent.

Earlier this week, they were knocked out of the Concacaf Champions League, losing both home and away matches to Vancouver Whitecaps. Sandwiched between those games was an MLS matchup against FC Dallas, where Miami held a 3-1 lead but ultimately fell 4-3.

This decline in performance coincides with Lionel Messi experiencing a brief scoring drought, failing to score or assist in his last four appearances for Miami. During a Friday press conference, head coach Javier Mascherano was questioned about whether his team had become overly dependent on Messi. The 40-year-old dismissed the idea with a laugh.

“Teams have always been dependent on Messi,” Mascherano explained to reporters. “From Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, which relied on him for years, to Luis Enrique’s Barcelona, Valverde’s Barcelona, and the Argentina national team for 15 or 20 years.”

“Essentially, with a player like Messi, it’s inevitable to build a dependency on him. It’s simply impossible not to,” he added.

“Of course, there are days when the team supports him more effectively and others when it does so less.”

Up next for the Herons is a clash with last year’s MLS Cup finalists, New York Red Bulls, on Saturday evening. Miami has slipped to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, though they have one game in hand compared to their rivals. For the Red Bulls, this match offers an opportunity to repeat their surprising 2024 victory over the Herons and tie in the standings.