Leo Messiwho made his Inter Miami debut less than a month ago completed the Florida team’s miracle this Saturday defeated Nashville on penalties win the League Cup (1-1, 9-10 on penalties)
The Argentinian star who He shone with a new goal tonightended up in a doomed side, aimless and bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference with 11 straight games without a win.
But The magic of Rosario’s genius completely revolutionized the Miami teamwhich, reinforced by the signings of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, sealed the first title in their history tonight after a very exciting match.
Messi not only won his first title with Inter Miami this Saturday, but also approxWith 44 trophies he reached the same value Daniel Alves as the footballer with the most titles in history.
HAHAHAHAHA I LOVE YOU MESSI
pic.twitter.com/SECM20ZXXV— Inter Miami ARG 🇦🇷 (@chichoRC_) August 20, 2023
The 10 of the Albiceleste He was also the top scorer in the League Cup with an exceptional record of 10 goals in just seven games.
Messi’s arrival in MLS was experienced with extraordinary passion and passion in Miami, MLS and USA the first edition of League Cupa new tournament where all MLS and Liga MX teams compete against each othersealed a “made in Hollywood” end to the Argentine’s landing on American soil.
Messi to the rescue
With a fantastic atmosphere at Geodis Park to support the team from the state capital, Nashville started with a very compact block and with a solid pressure in which the guests got stuck.
Not surprisingly, the local team Totally focused on finding the gold against the counter and what the recalcitrant Hany Mukhtar (MVP and top scorer of the MLS in 2022) could invent between the lines.
He had a hard time reacting to the pink outfit with a lot of ball possession without depth, However, Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s side didn’t lose patience despite Messi going virtually unnoticed for the first 20 minutes.
Actually, The first chances came for Nashville, First with a deflected shot from Shaq Moore and then a Walker Zimmerman header which Drake Callender caught.
Piece by piece, Inter Miami found some cracks in the Nashville wall, notably through a left wing in which Jordi Alba gave plenty of oxygen to his teammates.
Exactly from the left, Robert Taylor tested the home keeper with a dry shot from outside the box in the 21st minute.
But The equality of the duel flew through the air with Messi’s umpteenth genius.
The Argentine, who had gone into midfield several times in search of the ball, came out of nowhere to snag a rebound on the Nashville front. He clipped Zimmerman and blasted a nice shot straight into the top corner.
With the result coming in positive, the slow, albeit intense, pace of the game further favored Inter Miami while Nashville was still in “shock” from that magical flash from Messifound only faint traces of danger in some high balls.
Nahville responds, but a penalty shootout decides
He didn’t change the script on reboot a very comfortable Inter Miami with the ball in their possession and that touched the second with a shot from Josef Martínez at a pass from Alba which Zimmerman blocked.
But the Nashville He suddenly woke up in the 57th minute thanks to a corner.
Mukhtar served the ball to the near post in search of Sam Surridge and the ball eventually landed in the small area where Fafà Picault headed it and the ball eventually bounced off Benjamin Cremaschi and Drake Callender.
The goal delighted Nashville and its fans while Inter Miami, who seemed to have controlled the final, were touched and mired in inaccuracies.
There were the yellow-black team’s best moments, with inertia in their favor, with an extra point of energy to take the shared balls and with I really want the game to start for good.
Inter Miami found the answer as usual: a Messi stroking the double in 71 let a cross shot crash against the post.
Nashville wasn’t afraid as they finally found their clear chance on the break with a double option that neither Surridge nor Mukhtar could match.
The game ended better the Nashville, much more dynamic and that he won with attacking reinforcements like Costa Rican Randall Leal against an Inter Miami who, with the right powers and physicality, went to the extreme to the finish.
Mukhtar tried every way he could (direct free kick, counterattack, heel shot…) and Surridge also had a header in the 92 minute.
And nevertheless, Inter Miami were inches away from a place in the finals in an incredible and insane final play. Ecuadorian Leonardo Campana won a long ball, placed in front of Elliot Panicco, hitting it in front of the goalkeeper and still had time to get his miss without anyone around, but his last attempt to jump to the ground ended the Post Office.
Already in the penalty shoot-out, the two teams showed excellent success and after the failures of Leal and Ulloa, luck decided with the shots of the goalkeepers, where Callender suspected Panicco’s shot thus completing Messi’s first trophy in the United States.
– Data sheet:
1. Nashville: Panicco; Moore, Zimmerman, MacNaughton, Lovitz; Muyl (Leal, bar 82), McCarty (Davis, bar 72), Godoy, Fafà (Shaffelburg, bar 72); Mukhtar and Surridge.
Coach: Gary Smith.
1. Inter Miami: Callender, Yedlin, Kryvtsov, Miller, Alba, Busquets, Arroyo (Ulloa, M.80), Cremaschi (Gómez, M.68), Messi, Martínez (Campana, M.68) and Taylor (Ruíz, m. 80).
Coach: Gerardo Martino.
Goals: 0-1, m. 23: Messi; 1-1, m. 57: Callender (own goal).
Penalties: Messi (goal, 0-1); Mukhtar (Goal, 1:1); Busquets (goal, 1-2); Loyal (miss, 1-2); Bell (goal, 1-3); Godoy (goal, 2-3); Miller (goal, 2-4); Zimmerman (goal, 3-4); Ulloa (miss, 3-4); Surridge (goal, 4-4); Kryvtsov (goal, 4-5); Moore (goal, 5-5); Alba (goal, 5-6); Lovitz (goal, 6-6); Gomez (goal, 6-7); MacNaughton (goal, 7-7); Ruiz (goal, 7-8); Davis (goal, 8-8); Yedlin (goal, 8-9); Shaffelburg (Gate, 9-9); Callender (goal, 9-10); Panicco (miss, 9-10).
Referee: Ismail Elfath. He admonished Godoy at Nashville and Ulloa at Inter Miami.
Incidents: Final of the first edition of the League Cup, played at Geodis Park in Nashville.