2023-08-07 06:20:55
Lionel Messi signed his third consecutive double this Sunday and rescued Inter Miami, who were losing 2-4 at Dallas until the 80th minute and came back to 4-4 before sealing their place in the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup in a penalty shootout (3-5).
In his first game away from home with Inter Miami, Messi scored twice and caused one goal on goal, before converting his penalty in the shootout that extended their fight for the first title of their time in American soccer.
Messi’s first goal came after 6 minutes of play and was an exact copy of the ones he scored at Barcelona with the collaboration of the recently joined Inter Miami, Jordi Alba.
The Argentine captain’s second goal, which meant the final 4-4, appeared shortly after the end, in a classic free kick from the right edge of the rival’s large area, made with a left-footed shot into the corner over the wall. Shortly before, an excellent cross from Messi into the heart of the rival area had caused the discount with a goal against.
Messi is the top scorer in the Leagues Cup with seven goals in four games and will play the quarterfinals against the winner of the game between Charlotte and Houston.
The Messi factor
He changes the balance of the matches with each touch, opens spaces in the rival defenses and, supported by Jordi Alba who gave two assists in his debut as a starter, and by Sergi Busquets, continues in the fight for his first American title.
The 100-degree heat in Dallas was not felt on the field. Both teams maintained high rhythms, with twists and turns and constant changes in the score. Dallas had it in his hands, but he did not know how to defend himself with order and Messi punished him.
The few remaining tickets to go to Toyota Stadium were sold for more than $400 and dozens of messages and banners for Messi were seen in the stands, even from fans who were usually loyal to Dallas.
Every touch of the ball from La Pulga was accompanied by shouts and, for the third time in three games as a starter, Messi took less than eight minutes to put his signature on the game.
The match
Dallas had come out to bite and Ferreira’s goal was disallowed after three minutes for offside, but after Inter Miami’s advantage the Texans had a hard time.
They risked repeatedly with dangerous losses that opened spaces for Messi and Martínez, but they managed to save themselves and, at the most difficult moment, struck twice to change the history of the clash.
Because beyond the hierarchy displayed by Busquets, Alba and Messi, Martino’s team made many mistakes at the start that were about to take their toll. He equalized Quignon with a great left-footed shot after Marco Farfán’s cross and Kamungo, on the brink of half-time, beat Callender in a one-on-one after an offensive transition for the Texan 2-1.
Instead of defending the advantage, Estévez gave way to attack-minded wingers like Arriola to continue pressing high and taking advantage of the lack of technique from the rival defense. His bet paid off and Dallas was ahead 3-1 and 4-2 with goals from Velasco (3-1) and a goal against Taylor, a few seconds after Benjamín Cremaschi cut to 2-3.
Dallas was two goals ahead until the 80s, but Messi still had something to draw from his arsenal. In a play from a stopped ball, he hung a cross that Farfán sent to the end of his own goal with a header as powerful as it was involuntary, and five minutes later, La Pulga completed his double.
Inter Miami got a new free kick on the right side of the area. Messi struck with elegance and sent the ball into the back of the net to make it 4-4 and rescue his team from elimination.
The duel was decided in a penalty shootout, in which Inter Miami was impeccable. Messi opened it with a left-footed cross and Dallas paid for its only miss, on the second shot, by Paxton Pomykal.
Inter Miami, which is three games away from getting its hands on the Leagues Cup title, took the game 5-3 on penalties.
Datasheet:
Dallas: Country; Geovane, Ibeagha, King Tafari, Farfan; Lletget (Pomykal, m.69), Quignon, Velasco (Ntsabeleng, m.77); Kamungo (Ansah, 59 m), Obrian (Arriola, 59 m) and Ferreira.
Inter Miami: Callender; Alba, Miller, Kryvtsov, Yedlin (Robinson, m.75); Gomez (Cremaschi, m.65), Arroyo, Busquets; Taylor, Messi and Martínez (Bell, m.75).
Goals: 0-1, m.8: Messi; 1-1, m.37: Quignon; 2-1, m.45: Kamungo; 3-1, m.63: Velasco; 3-2, m.65: Cremaschi; 4-2, m.68: Taylor (pp); 4-3, m.80: Farfán (pp); 4-4, m.85: Messi.
Tanda de penales (3-5): 0-1, Messi: goal; 1-1, Arriola: goal; 2-1, Busquets: goal; 2-1, Pomykal: fallo; 3-1, Campana: goal; 3-2, Quignon: goal; 4-2, Miller: goals; 4-3, Ferreira: goal; 5-3, Cremaschi: goal.
Referee: César Ramos Palazuelos (MEX). He showed yellow cards to Nkosi Tafari from Dallas, and to Busquets from Inter Miami.
Incidents: Match of the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup played at the Toyota Stadium in front of 28,000 spectators.
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