Messi delivered once again for Miami, who pushed past Orlando City and are on their way to the Leagues Cup final
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.