Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami beat FC Cincinnati this Wednesday at home with an epic match after drawing 3-3 in regulation time and winning 4-5 in a penalty shootout to reach the US Open Cup final.
The pink outfit, which last week won the first title in its history with the Leagues Cup, will compete for its second trophy after turning around a game that was losing 2-0 on Wednesday and which was sent to extra time with a goal in the 97th minute by the Ecuadorian Leonardo Campana.
It is the first time that Inter Miami has gone through a tie without Messi scoring a goal, although he did contribute notably with two magnificent assists led by a Campana who scored a brace. Inter Miami’s third goal was sealed by Venezuelan Josef Martinez to complete the comeback in overtime.
The Argentine Luciano Acosta and the American of Mexican origin Brandon Vázquez scored for Cincinnati in regulation time. Japan’s Yuya Kubo scored in the second extra period to force penalties. Gerardo Martino made many changes to the starting eleven, although he kept Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. The other novelty was the change of drawing with three centrals.
We had to wait until minute 17 for the Argentine Acosta to open the scoring. The play was born on the left wing in their own boots. An unfortunate action for the Miami defense ended up qualifying him inside the area and he defined with problems but first, with his left foot, hitting the ball in Kamal Miller and entering tight to the post.
The goal and some other scares were a wake-up call for Inter Miami, who quickly signed their first shot between the three sticks, well answered by Alec Kann. A great pass from Messi enabled the diagonal offered by the Paraguayan Diego Gómez.
The closing of the first part was with cold minutes. Cincinnati controlled the game and did not allow Miami to generate play despite dominating possession. Two occasions just by Jean Mota and Aaron Boupendza came to nothing.
Inter Miami could not connect with Messi and the new drawing continued without giving results. They went up meters little by little and neglected the back of the defense, something that Cincinnati knew how to read very well.
The focus of the locals was clearly to damage the counter and thus a long ball arrived to the right space of the attack for the Colombian Santiago Arias, who had all the time in the world to raise his head and deliver the ball up front to Vázquez. The batter hit it with a lot of power to adjust it to the right of Drake Callender. It was minute 53 and the distance on the scoreboard became worrying for the visitors.
Martino made changes introducing David Ruiz, Facundo Farías and Robert Taylor. The drawing returned to the usual 4-3-3 and the challenge was enormous: only thirty minutes ahead to enter the comeback.
Without being able to develop a game, Inter Miami’s goal had to come from a set piece at minute 68. Messi executed it perfectly from the left to put it on the head of the Ecuadorian Campana, who finished off at will and before a Kann who could only watch.
Already with the Venezuelan Josef Martínez on the pitch, the Florida team put all the meat on the grill to force overtime and the match became a two-way clash. The ‘I want and I can’t’ of Inter Miami increased in the nine minutes that added time lasted; each opportunity of the ‘Tata’ gave way to a counterattack from Cincinnati.
And Campana and his head appeared again, same combination. The center was from Messi for the Ecuadorian, who crossed it and sent the game to extra time in 97.
Already in the extra time it was the turn of Martínez. Good high pressure, recovery from Alba and this time Benjamín Cremaschi ‘played Messi’ assisting the Venezuelan, who beat Kann between his legs. Despite winning and the fact that Cincinnati was in a hurry, Inter Miami pressed from high above to hinder their rival’s release of the ball and it worked for them.
It had to be the Japanese Kubo, who looked for him the most since he entered the second part, the one who put the tie and all the emotion. A rejection came to him and he had the temperance to accommodate her and make her unattainable for Callender. In minute 116, the script had a free kick prepared for Messi to enhance his short history in the United States, but this time he did not find the squad.
Once on penalties, both teams were very reliable and converted the first four shots, until Nick Hagglund missed the fifth for the locals and Cremaschi, as he had already done in Dallas, scored the final goal for Inter Miami.
3. FC Cincinnati: Kann; Hagglund, Miazga, Murphy (Powell, m. 88); Arias, Moreno (Angle, m.88), Thursday, Barreal (Halsey, m.105); Boupendza (Kubo, m.62), Acosta (Gaddis, m.88) and Vazquez (Santos, m.77).
3. Inter Miami: Callender; Avilés (Allen, m.78), Kryvtsov, Miller (Taylor, m.58); Yedlin (Farias, m.58), Gómez (Martínez, m.78), Busquets, Mota (Ruiz, m.58), Alba; Messi and Campana (Cremaschi, m.90).
Goals: 1-0, m. 17: Luciano Acosta. 2-0, m. 53: Brandon Vazquez. 2-1, m. 68: Leonardo Campana. 2-2, m.90 7: Leonardo Campana. 2-3, m.93: Josef Martínez. 3-3, m.114: Yuya Kubo.
Penalties: Kubo (goal, 1-0); Messi (goal, 1-1); Arias (goals, 2-1); Farías (goal, 2-2); Santos (goals, 3-2); Ruiz (goals, 3-3); Miasma (goals, 4-3); Martínez (goals, 4-4); Hagglund (falla, 4-4); Cremaschi (goals, 4-5 final).
Referee: Joe Dickerson (USA). He showed yellow cards to Obinna Nwobodo (m. 31), Luciano Acosta (m. 85) and Alvas Powell (m.111) for the locals and Jordi Alba (m. 24), Jean Mota (m. 41) and Kryvtsov (m. 41) and Kryvtsov (m. 111). . 80) by the visitors.
Incidents: Semifinals of the US Open Cup. Meeting played at the TQL Stadium in front of nearly 26,000 spectators.
