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
Muchova beats Mboko in Qatar final to end title drought
- Her title run in Doha will lift her from 19 to 11 in the world rankings
DOHA: Karolina Muchova captured her first WTA 1000 crown and her first title since 2019 with an impressive 6-4, 7-5 victory over Canadian teen sensation Victoria Mboko in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.
After battling back from a set and a break down in the semifinals against Maria Sakkari the previous night, Muchova, 29, was in fierce form against Mboko to clinch the biggest title of her career.
“It’s been a while since I won a tournament, so it’s nice to get that feeling again, to be reminded of that victory feeling again,” said Muchova during the trophy ceremony.
“I’d like to congratulate Victoria; you’re still a teenager but you play with so much maturity. I’m sure you have many titles ahead of you.”
A former French Open finalist, Muchova’s career has been hampered by injuries but she has started 2026 in fine fashion, amassing a 12-2 win-loss record over the past six weeks.
Her title run in Doha will lift her from 19 to 11 in the world rankings, while Mboko guaranteed herself a top-10 debut on Monday by making the final.
Muchova put together a clean opening set, landing an impressive 75 percent of her first serves, and dropping just three points behind that first delivery.
The Czech faced zero break points across the 43-minute set and showcased her prowess at the net to take a solid step toward the title.
Mboko made adjustments on return in the second set, and managed to decode her opponent’s serve to carve a 4-2 gap but her advantage was short-lived as Muchova broke twice and wrapped up the contest in 94 minutes.
The 19-year-old Mboko has the most match wins on the women’s tour this season with 13 to just three defeats. She will rise to No. 10 in the world on Monday.
“It’s not the outcome I wanted but I think there’s many positives to take away,” said Mboko, who was competing in her fourth WTA final, and second at the 1000 level.
