Lionel Messi and Inter Miami staged a remarkable comeback against FC Cincinnati to advance to the semifinals of the US Open Cup. They scored two goals in the last minutes of the match, including one in the 97th minute to square things up.
For the first time since Lionel Messi’s arrival, Tata Martino fielded a different roster than he had been using. The most notable change was the resting of star forwards Josef Martinez and Robert Taylor. The choice appeared to have been a poor one after the Herons gave up two goals in quick succession, putting them in a losing position just before the hour mark.
Nevertheless, as we have learned to anticipate, the game is never done until Lionel Messi declares that it is finished. After the break, the former Barcelona player altered gears and provided two magnificent passes to his latest striking partner Leonardo Campana. Campana was the recipient of these assists. The Ecuadorian attacker, who is 23 years old, demonstrated why he should have been selected by completing the Argentine’s passes and thereby assisting his team in extending the match into extra time.
Lionel Messi’s audacious assist in the final embers of the game captured everyone’s attention. The 36-year-old World Cup winner lobbed the ball over the entire Cincinnati team to give off an easy finish to Campana. Campana scored the game-winning goal.
Campana, who had been sitting on the bench ever since Messi’s arrival, figuratively rose to the occasion by easily heading the ball past Alec Kann. Campana has been warming the bench ever since Messi’s arrival. It appeared as though the Herons were about to suffer their first loss in eight matches when they played, despite the fact that they had just recently started their win streak during their miraculous run in the Leagues Cup. However, there is still a long way to go before the match is decided, as Lionel Messi and Campana have taken matters into their own hands.
Inter Miami and Lionel Messi are both looking to add yet another championship to their resumes.
The aforementioned semifinal match is currently in the period of extra time, and there is a possibility that Inter Miami may have to participate in a penalty shootout for a second time in a row.
The Herons, under the direction of a revitalized La Pulga, have just recently won their first piece of silverware in their team’s history, achieving a famous victory over Nashville in the competition’s final match. The former player for Paris Saint-Germain scored a spectacular goal from a distance to give his team the lead, but Nashville played well in response and tied the game in the 57th minute.
After the additional period of play resulted in neither team being able to find a way to win the game, the contest was decided by a round of penalty kicks. Every outfield player on the pitch scored from the penalty spot, but it was goalie Elliot Panicco’s blunder that ultimately gave Inter Miami the win.
The players playing for Tata Martino are currently in a precarious position and have a window of thirty minutes to alter their course of events in the penultimate stage of the US Open. If they are successful, Inter Miami will play in the championship game against either Houston Dynamo or Real Salt Lake.
