Inter Miami will be counting their lucky stars after a second-half brace by Lionel Messi secured the club’s second trip to the Leagues Cup final in a 3-1 win over rivals Orlando City SC on Wednesday night.
Orlando City will be ruing missed chances and calls, especially after Oscar Pareja’s side took a 1-0 lead, scoring before the break. Ivan Angulo had arguably the chance of the match in the 22nd minute, as he broke free off of a counter-attack with just Oscar Ustari in front of him. Fortunately for Miami, his shot right sailed right.
Yet, after knocking on the door in the first half, they broke the deadlock in the dying seconds of the first half. Marco Pašalić attempted a shot and saw Maxi Falcon kick it back into his arm before converting it in the 46th minute. After a thorough review, the goal counted.
Angulo was involved in another near-goal for Orlando, but this time it wasn’t his fault. Angulo got into the box and had a 1v1 against Sergio Busquets. Despite being kneed by the former Barca star, the officials refused to call a spot kick – even after review. After two breaks, Inter Miami went to work.
Tadeo Allende rose up into the air with David Brekalo and was nudged in the box by the Orlando defender. Upon a review, a penalty was awarded and Messi coolly converted it to level the game. And the Argentine was just getting started. Jordi Alba, who had been held quiet for almost the entire match, found a charging Messi in the box and delivered a pinpoint pass to the forward, who slotted the goal past Pedro Gallese for the winner.
Telasco Segovia delivered a world-class finish to pad Miami’s lead to three, and advance the club to the final.
Orlando aren’t done in the Leagues Cup, as they will play in the third-place match. The winner of both games get a guaranteed trip to the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Inter Miami will be counting their lucky stars after a second-half brace by Lionel Messi secured the club’s second trip to the Leagues Cup final in a 3-1 win over rivals Orlando City SC on Wednesday night.
Orlando City will be ruing missed chances and calls, especially after Oscar Pareja’s side took a 1-0 lead, scoring before the break. Ivan Angulo had arguably the chance of the match in the 22nd minute, as he broke free off of a counter-attack with just Oscar Ustari in front of him. Fortunately for Miami, his shot right sailed right.
Yet, after knocking on the door in the first half, they broke the deadlock in the dying seconds of the first half. Marco Pašalić attempted a shot and saw Maxi Falcon kick it back into his arm before converting it in the 46th minute. After a thorough review, the goal counted.
Angulo was involved in another near-goal for Orlando, but this time it wasn’t his fault. Angulo got into the box and had a 1v1 against Sergio Busquets. Despite being kneed by the former Barca star, the officials refused to call a spot kick – even after review. After two breaks, Inter Miami went to work.
Tadeo Allende rose up into the air with David Brekalo and was nudged in the box by the Orlando defender. Upon a review, a penalty was awarded and Messi coolly converted it to level the game. And the Argentine was just getting started. Jordi Alba, who had been held quiet for almost the entire match, found a charging Messi in the box and delivered a pinpoint pass to the forward, who slotted the goal past Pedro Gallese for the winner.
Telasco Segovia delivered a world-class finish to pad Miami’s lead to three, and advance the club to the final.
Orlando aren’t done in the Leagues Cup, as they will play in the third-place match. The winner of both games get a guaranteed trip to the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Oscar Ustari (6/10):
Not much he could do about the goal conceded, as it came under fluky circumstances. Made three saves and did what was asked of him in passing to the backline.
Jordi Alba (7/10):
Rusty on his return to the lineup, and didn’t generate his typical offensive impetus. He struggled to keep pace with Orlando’s pacey wingers for about 80 minutes, but delivered the moment of the game by threading the needle to Messi to score the winner.
Maxi Falcon (6/10):
Will regret not doing better in the clearance in the box that led to Pašalić’s goal, but largely rebounded in the second half.
Gonzalo Lujan (6/10):
Didn’t really stand out, but also didn’t make a costly mistake. Was pulled in the second half as Miami chased an equalizer.
Ian Fray (5/10):
Similar to Alba, he really struggled to contain the opposing wingers, and he didn’t offer anything offensively. Quiet night.
Baltasar Rodríguez (5/10):
Wasn’t as impactful as he was in his debut for Inter Miami over the weekend, but still offered a rare bit of pace and width for Inter Miami before being subbed off for Segovia
Sergio Busquets (6/10):
Neat and tidy as usual. Completed 93.2 percent of his passes and had a killer pass. Textbook from the defensive midfield legend.
Yannick Bright (6/10):
Offered defensive cover, which was key, especially in the first half.
Rodrigo De Paul (5/10):
He’s been off over the past few weeks, raising concerns if the Argentine is fatigued or isn’t being utilized properly by Miami. Considering the outlay for the former Atletico star, more is needed.
Lionel Messi (9/10):
The only thing preventing a 10 here is a sluggish first half. The Argentine – in a rare 45-minute spell – was contained as he was triple- and sometimes quadruple-covered by Orlando. Miami’s subs in the second half opened up the game and allowed him to pounce. He was dominant in the final 20 minutes.
Luis Suarez (7/10):
Didn’t score, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Had crafty moves that opened up scoring chances for him in both halves and was smart with his link-up play.
Tadeo Allende (7/10):
Didn’t have a goal contribution, but provided spark and won the penalty that would set up Messi’s equalizer.
Telasco Segovia (8/10):
Added some much-needed pace and wide play for Miami. He channeled his inner-Messi by dribbling past two defenders, doing a give-and-go with Suarez and blasting the game-icing strike to give Miami a two-goal lead.
Tomas Aviles (NA):
Came on in extra time for defensive cover.
Javier Morales/Javier Mascherano (7/10):
Morales was technically on the sidelines, but Mascherano – suspended for a previous red card – set the lineup and likely had a hand in determining substitution patterns in the final 45 minutes. It appeared a team effort by the managers and after a poor first half, they responded by using their bench. Once subs came into action, it opened the game and swung it towards the Herons’ favor.
