Inter Miami are through to another cup final. Lionel Messi and company went to FC Cincinnati on Wednesday and edged the hosts in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals in a penalty shootout, 5-4.
Drake Callender's save on Nick Hagglund's penalty take proved to be the difference as Benjamin Cremaschi buried the deciding penalty yet again for the Herons, adding to an assist that he had in stoppage time.
The wild match finished 2-2 after regulation and 3-3 after extra time with Inter coming back from two goals down to equalize late into second-half stoppage time. After Lionel Messi's two assists saw them draw level, Josef Martinez gave his side the lead early in extra time but Inter would concede late on to force the spot kicks on a great finish from Yuya Kubo, who was knocking on the door after entering the match.
Tata Martino made quite a few changes with Miami playing their third game in eight days, shifting to a 3-5-2 formation that saw Tomas Aviles debut and Jean Mota return to the starting XI from his injury. But the Herons seemed disjointed in that formation, allowing Luciano Acosta and Brandon Vazquez to hurt them on counters to give Cincinnati an early 2-0 lead.
But when a team has Messi, a two-goal lead isn't enough as a foul on Facundo Farias gave the World Cup winner a free kick in a good area, and he found Leonardo Campana for the goal before feeding Campana again from open play deep into stoppage time. It's the first game that Messi has appeared in for Miami where he didn't score a goal but it still shows how much he has been able to influence the side.
Every free kick that Miami gets is essentially a free play due to Messi's deliveries from dead-ball situations and the goal for Campana is no different. All that the forward needs to do is get in the right position and Campana does just that. Just look at this service from Messi.
Messi's second ball for Campana was even better as it's clear that they've gotten some time practicing together despite all the travel that the team has been doing with Leagues Cup duties prior to this. After receiving the ball deep, Messi held the ball up for Campana to check his run perfectly and glide into a spot to be on the end of a perfect ball to force extra time. Here's his out-of-this-world assist:
Even when Messi isn't scoring for the Herons, he's able to impact the game like this. Here are a few numbers from his time with the club as he continues to dominate:
Source: CBS Sports
BDST: 0957 HRS, AUG 24, 2023
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