FORT LAUDERDALE: Lionel Messi scored twice in his return and Inter Miami beat Orlando City 3-1 on Wednesday night to advance to the Leagues Cup Final.
Inter Miami will be on the road to face the Seattle winner in the final Sunday. The Sounders beat the LA Galaxy 2-0 on the road later Wednesday.
Messi was back for the second time in two weeks after a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
Marco Pašalić opened the scoring for Orlando just before halftime, with the play surviving a VAR review for a possible handball.
Messi tied it in the 77th, converting from the penalty spot after Tadeo Allende was pulled down in the box. It was more Messi magic in the 88th when he combined with Jordi Alba to put Miami ahead.
Then, to finish it off in very similar fashion to Messi’s second goal, Telasco Segovia gave the ball to Luis Suarez and got it back to put the finishing touch on the victory.
“We are always excited to win and now we have an opportunity to take home a trophy,” assistant coach Javier Morales said. Head coach Javier Mascherano served his red-card suspension during the semifinal.
In an expected intense affair, there were nine yellow cards total and one red card given to Orlando City defender David Brekalo.
“Brekalo’s (first) yellow card was unbelievable. He doesn’t even touch the player (Rodrigo De Paul),” Orlando City coach Óscar Pareja said. “So this affects a team and affects the players to where the game becomes very difficult.”
Miami won the 2022 tournament.
Lionel Messi scores twice as Inter Miami beats Orlando City 3-1 in Leagues Cup semis
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Lionel Messi scores twice as Inter Miami beats Orlando City 3-1 in Leagues Cup semis
- Inter Miami will be on the road to face the Seattle winner in the final Sunday
- Messi was back for the second time in two weeks after a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury
Christensen and Rashford on target as Barcelona beat Guadalajara in Copa del Rey
- Guadalajara’s hopes were extinguished in the dying moments when Lamine Yamal played a sublime through-ball into the path of Rashford
GUADALAJARA, Spain: Late strikes from Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory for Barcelona against third-tier side Guadalajara on Tuesday, sending the Catalans through to the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona labored for much of the match at the Pedro Escartin stadium, holding over 80 percent of possession but struggling to break down a disciplined five-man Guadalajara defense.
The home side posed a constant threat on the counter-attack and frustrated the European heavyweights for long stretches.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick introduced regular starters Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde, Jules Kounde, and Pedri from the bench in the second half, seeking a breakthrough.
The changes finally paid dividends in the 77th minute when Frenkie de Jong whipped in a cross from the right and defender Christensen rose highest to meet the delivery, with his header deflecting off Guadalajara’s Julio Martinez before nestling in the net.
The hosts nearly produced an immediate response, with Salifo Caropitche unleashing a fierce drive from distance, but Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen — who was playing his first game for Barca since May — reacted superbly to tip the effort over the bar, preserving his side’s slender lead.
Guadalajara’s hopes were extinguished in the dying moments when Lamine Yamal played a sublime through-ball into the path of Rashford.
The English forward showed great composure, wrong-footing keeper Dani Vicente with a quick cut to his left before tapping the ball into the empty net to wrap up the result for Barcelona.
“These are tricky matches; they come out with everything they’ve got and we have to do the same,” Cubarsi told TVE.
“In the second half, we picked up the pace and moved them from side to side to tire them out. As the minutes passed, they grew tired, and that was the key point. They played spectacularly well.”
