Messi scores again, Inter Miami beats Charlotte 4-0, heads to Leagues Cup semifinals
Hundreds of Lionel Messi fans, eager to catch a glimpse of their idol, lined up along metal barricades in the DRV PNK Stadium parking lot two hours before kickoff of Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup quarterfinal against Charlotte FC Friday night.
It has become a pregame ritual since the Argentine star joined Miami in July. Fans line the parking lot perimeter, scream “Messi! Messi!” and take photos of bus windows as a charter bus delivers Messi and his teammates a few hundred yards from the training facility into a secure stadium entrance.
They wanted more Messi Magic, and they got it. Messi scored his eighth goal in five games and Inter Miami advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0 victory over Charlotte. Miami will play Philadelphia Union on the road in the semifinals on Tuesday. Philadelphia beat Mexican team Queretaro 2-1 with an extra-time goal Friday night.
Josef Martinez and Robert Taylor gave Inter Miami a 2-0 first-half lead, an Adilson Malanda own goal widened the gap, and then, in the 86th minute, Messi gave the near-sellout crowd of 20,368 the goal they were waiting for. The Argentine was left open at close range and Leo Campana found him for the assist.
Before Messi joined the team, Inter Miami had scored 22 goals in 22 games. Since his arrival, Miami has scored 17 goals in five games.
“It’s just our luck that we have to play them three times,” said Charlotte coach Christian Lattanzo. “This Miami team is completely transformed. You bring in three players who were starters of a (Barcelona) team that has been defined by many as maybe the greatest ever. What do you do? When you have Messi, who just needs one chance, one second, you have to be always very sharp to stop him from producing the magic that he has always produced since he went to Barcelona when he was 16.”
Martinez, the Venezuelan forward, gave Miami the early 1-0 lead with a penalty kick in the 12th minute after Dixon Arroyo was fouled by Harrison Afful in the box. Martinez right footed the shot into the bottom left corner.
Robert Taylor doubled Miami’s lead in the 32nd minute. Sergio Busquets sent a perfectly paced long diagonal pass to DeAndre Yedlin on the right wing, who laid it to Taylor on the ground in the middle of the box and the Finn slotted it home.
It looked like Campana was going to score Miami’s third goal on a Diego Gomez cross, but Malanda tried to clear it and instead sent it into the net.
Key Biscayne teenager Benjamin Cremaschi returned to the starting lineup after scoring a go-ahead goal and the decisive game-winning penalty kick against Dallas last Sunday. Cremaschi had started 13 games in a row before the Dallas game, but coach Tata Martino opted to go with recently signed Paraguayan midfielder Diego Gomez on that night.
Friday, it was Gomez on the bench and Cremaschi in the Starting XI along with Messi, Taylor, Martinez, Arroyo, Busquets, Yedlin, Jordi Alba, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Kamal Miller, and Drake Callender.
Martinez was replaced by Campana in the 60th minute. Ten minutes later, Taylor and Cremaschi went out and Gomez and David Ruiz went in.
Heading into the game Friday, Martino expressed concern about Miami’s defensive lapses in previous games, adding that Miami was “not a reliable team” despite its 4-0 Cup record. He said he was also disappointed in Miami’s defense on set pieces. All five opposing goals in Martino’s first four games with Inter Miami came as a result of corner kicks or free kicks.
But on Friday night, the Miami defense stepped up. Miller, Yedlin, Alba and Kryvstov kept Charlotte at bay all night. Sixteen minutes in, Miami was dominating possession 78 percent to 22 percent. At halftime, it was 65 percent to 35 percent.
When the final whistle blew, Busquets sprinted over to Callender to congratulate him for his strong play in the net.
“Attacking and defending depends on all the players, not just defenders, and I felt we did better as a team today,” Martino said. “We controlled the ball more. There was only one clear chance from the opponent where we left a striker unmarked.”
The win set off celebrations at sports bars all over South Florida.
Fritz and Franz Bierhaus in Coral Gables, a popular spot with soccer fans, was packed Friday night for the Miami vs. Charlotte game. South Florida fans have always gathered to watch international soccer, but not for MLS matches. That changed the moment Messi put on the pink No. 10 shirt.
Miami and Charlotte were scheduled to resume the MLS regular season at DRV PNK Stadium on Aug. 20, but that game was postponed to a date to be determined because the Leagues Cup final and third-place games are Aug. 19 and either Miami or Charlotte were guaranteed to play that date.
