Leagues Cup: Messi magic send Miami through; Seattle book final ticket | OneFootball

The highly-anticipated Leagues Cup semi-finals took place Wednesday evening with all-MLS representation.

Here is what went down Miami and Los Angeles.

Sounders cruise past LA Galaxy to book final ticket

Scorers: De la Vega 7', De Rosario 57'

The Seattle Sounders booked their ticket to the final with a comfortable win over reigning MLS champs LA Galaxy.

It has been a season of ups and downs for the Galaxy, but their Leagues Cup form has been a shining light. Unfortunately for the hosts, they reverted type in opening hour against Seattle.

Before the 10 minute mark, some shaky defending allowed Pedro de la Vega to fire home the Seattle opener, while Osaze De Rosario showed off some slick feet to double the lead before the hour-mark.

Things looked like they could get a little shaky for the visitors from up north in the final 10 minutes when Nouhou was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Gabriel Pec, but the Galaxy could not pull off the late comeback, even with the numerical advantage.

Inter Miami come back to stun 10-man Orlando City

Scorers: Messi 77' (P), 89', Segovia 90+3' ; Pašalić 45+1'

Inter Miami scored three late goals, powered by a Lionel Messi brace, to book their ticket to the Leagues Cup final in style.

Orlando City looked keen to replicate their derby thrashing of a few weeks ago in the opening 15 minutes, putting the hosts under plenty of pressure. And that pressure paid off just before the break.

Despite some suggestion he handled the ball after collecting the rebound, Marco Pašalić popped up to lash the opener home for Orlando and stun the home crowd.

But you can't keep Inter Miami's stars out for long. The Herons found their way back into the game in the final 15 minutes when David Brekalo pulled Tadeo Allende down from behind in the box, prompting the referee to award Miami a penalty and send the Orlando defender off.

Up stepped, who else, but Lionel Messi to bury the spot-kick and pull the home side level as the game ticked into the final 10 minutes.

And just when it looked as if Orlando might hold on to take the game to penalties, the Herons star duo of Messi and Jordi Alba pulled off a lethal combination in the Orlando box to stun the visitors and book their ticket to the Leagues Cup final in dramatic style.

To cap off the superb final 15 minutes for the hosts, an audacious Telasco Segovia chipped finish in stoppage-time put the semi-final to bed, setting Miami up for a matchup with the winner of LA Galaxy vs Seattle Sounders.

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