Inter Miami defeats Charlotte 4-0, as Lionel Messi scores once more to advance to the League Cup semifinals.
In a Leagues Cup quarterfinal encounter on Friday night, Messi scored in the 86th minute to help Inter Miami defeat Charlotte 4-0.
It was his eighth goal in five games with his new team.
Both Inter Miami’s winning streak and Lionel Messi’s goal-scoring streak continue.
In each of Messi’s five outings with Miami, he has scored. The Leagues Cup, a 47-team competition made up of clubs from Major League Soccer and Mexico’s top league, has now been reduced to the last four.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner who guided Argentina to the World Cup victory last year has yet to lose a match with Miami.
He has come out on top in all five of their encounters.
Messi and his new team will play in a semifinal matchup on Tuesday against either Philadelphia Union or Mexican club Queretaro.
Charlotte came close to eliminating him from the scoreboard. Almost.
For Inter Miami, Josef Martinez and Robert Thomas also scored goals. Late in the second half, some intense pressure from Lionel Messi led to another goal, and Messi then provided the game-winning goal in the closing seconds.
Even on a night when South Florida’s sports scene was crowded, the club appeared to be close to nearly another sellout at the 22,000-seat DRV PNK Stadium.
The Miami Marlins hosted the New York Yankees, the Miami Dolphins hosted their home preseason opening, and Miami Heat player Tyler Herro was the star of the pro-am league championship game inside a jam-packed high school gym.
But as would be expected, Messimania persisted. A far cry from what life was like for supporters of Inter Miami before the Messi era, the fans wearing those brand-new pink No. 10 shirts left joyful once more.
Inter Miami had won five of their 22 MLS games prior to the arrival of Messi.
Inter Miami is now two victories away from a League Cup triumph thanks to Messi, who has helped his team to five victories.
Messi’s first decent opportunity came after 30 minutes of play, when several deft short passes on the left side of the box gave him a chance from about 6 yards away.
Kristijan Kahlina, the goalkeeper for Charlotte, blocked his shot to maintain the 1-0 lead at the time.
Nobody realized Inter Miami already had all the offensive capabilities it would require.
When Messi passed to Taylor in the 69th minute, he then received it back and had an open goal at his disposal, but his attempt from approximately 12 yards out in the middle of the box was deflected away.
Messi was limited to a single upward-facing glance and a small smile.
After Dixon Arroyo was fouled inside the penalty area in the 12th minute, Martinez converted the resulting penalty kick to give Inter Miami the lead.
Following Inter Miami’s unsuccessful claim that Charlotte had committed a handball, which would have also resulted in the granting of a penalty kick, followed that foul.
When Taylor received a feed from DeAndre Yedlin near the top of the box and fired a one-timer off Kahlina’s hand, the score increased to 2-0.
In order to set up his second goal of the evening, Yedlin intercepted a pass on the right flank, waited for Taylor, who pointed to the exact location where he wanted the ball and put it there.
After an own goal made it 3-0, Messi sealed the victory.
