Without Messi, Inter Miami reach Leagues Cup semi-finals | OneFootball

Without Messi, Javier Mascherano's team won the match 2-1 and advanced to the next stage of the competition.

Without Lionel Messi, but with an unstoppable Luis Suárez from the penalty spot. Inter Miami hosted Tigres in the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup and achieved a significant 2-1 victory with a double from the Pistolero, taking advantage of two handballs in the area by the same player - Aquino - thus securing a spot in the semifinals of the tournament they won in 2023. Now they await their opponent: Toluca or Orlando City, at the Chase Stadium.

The first news for Inter Miami on this Wednesday of the Leagues Cup wasn't the best: Messi, still not at 100% physically, wasn't even on the bench. Given this situation, the home team had to rely on a collective game to counter a Mexican team that arrived in Miami with ambition. And they did just that, especially in the first half, dominating every aspect of the game.

In the first good triangulation, Inter Miami found a hand. And not as a help. It was a literal handball by Aquino, who touched it after a feint by Jordi Alba, resulting in a penalty. Luis Suárez opened his foot and scored 1-0 at 23'. The lead wasn't greater for the home team because Purata denied Allende a 2-0 and an Alba shot went close. And Tigres? Little to nothing. Just an attempt by Lainez and zero shots on target in the first half.

The second half was a different match, which started complicated for Inter Miami, with a red card for Mascherano, Alba leaving due to a knee injury (it happened in the first half, but he held on and couldn't continue), and Ángel Correa's equalizer, making it 1-1 with a good individual play at 67'. It seemed Tigres would overpower a shaken home team, and even Ustari saved them by stopping a shot from Correa. That's when Inter Miami woke up again.

Same formula for the winning goal: handball by Aquino, reviewed by VAR which the referee didn't see initially, and a goal by Suárez, making it 2-1 at 89', with relief from the Pistolero, players, and fans, with Messi being one of them from his box. But something was missing: an angel for Inter Miami. Before the end, with time already up, Correa headed the ball, and it hit both posts, bouncing on the line. Suffering and fulfilling, Inter Miami is in the semis.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.