FORT LAUDERDALE, United States: Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano hailed Lionel Messi as “extraordinary” after the Argentine superstar steered the club into their first MLS Cup final with a 5-1 thrashing of New York City FC on Saturday.
A Tadeo Allende hat-trick and goals from Mateo Silvetti and Telasco Segovia sent a revitalized Miami roaring into Major League Soccer’s championship game next Saturday at their home field in Fort Lauderdale.
While Messi did not get on the scoresheet, the 38-year-old provided a crucial, classy assist for Miami’s third goal scored by Silvetti that effectively killed off the game as New York chased an equalizer.
“Leo has accustomed us to the extraordinary,” Mascherano said of his former Barcelona and Argentina team-mate.
“He’s someone extraordinary, someone we’ll never see again. Today, perhaps we’re surprised that he didn’t score, but he gave us peace of mind with the third goal, an assist that only he can see. He practically sealed the game.”
Miami will host the Vancouver Whitecaps in next Saturday’s MLS showpiece.
Vancouver, spearheaded by former Germany and Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller, advanced to the final with a superb 3-1 victory over San Diego in California on Saturday to claim the Western Conference crown.
Messi and his team-mates will head into the final bristling with confidence after another ruthless, high-scoring demolition job that followed on from their 4-0 drubbing of FC Cincinnati in the previous round.
Allende – who scored twice in the victory over Cincinnati – was once again the focal point of the Miami attack.
The 26-year-old Argentine forward opened the scoring in the 14th minute after cleverly springing the New York offside trap and then headed in a superb second to make it 2-0.
New York rallied back with a headed Justin Haak goal in the 37th minute, and came within a whisker of an equalizer when Julian Fernandez forced a fine one-handed save from Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo in the 66th minute.
That near miss was to prove crucial.
Miami immediately swept upfield and a flowing move saw Rodrigo De Paul and Jordi Alba combine before Messi slipped a pass to Silvetti who rifled home to make it 3-1.
‘Unbreakable’
Segovia then eliminated any doubt with Miami’s fourth in the 83rd minute before Allende completed his hat-trick a minute from time to spark wild celebrations.
The victory leaves Miami just one win away from completing a remarkable transformation after a season that appeared to be unraveling in disarray earlier in the campaign following after a string of defeats.
“We strengthened as a group and reached the end of the season with a brotherhood within the team, where everyone pulls together, and it doesn’t matter who starts,” Mascherano said. “We are a group, and the power of a group is unbreakable.”
Meanwhile Vancouver – who thumped Miami 5-1 on aggregate when they met in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals in April – signaled that they will be ready to take on the star-studded Florida outfit with a masterful display to beat San Diego.
The Canadian club got off to a dream start with Brian White firing them into the lead after only eight minutes.
More relentless Vancouver pressure forced an own goal from San Diego goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega three minutes later and a second White goal on the stroke of half-time made it 3-0.
San Diego raised hopes of an unlikely fightback when Mexico striker Hirving Lozano lashed in a long-range effort in the 60th minute.
But Vancouver continued to look the likelier team to score and Sisniega was shown a red card for bringing down Ryan Gauld when the Whitecaps player rounded him to go in on goal.
Messi, Miami into first MLS Cup final after New York rout
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Messi, Miami into first MLS Cup final after New York rout
- Inter Miami will host the Vancouver Whitecaps in next Saturday’s Major League Soccer showpiece
- The victory leaves Miami just one win away from completing a remarkable transformation
Smylie wins on LIV Golf debut, leads Ripper GC to team title in Riyadh
- Jon Rahm and Torque GC finish second in the individual and team competitions respectively
RIYADH: Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith believes his new teammate Elvis Smylie can one day become the best golfer in the world. After the 23-year-old Australian produced four sizzling rounds to win on his LIV Golf debut, the rest of the league may very well share the same sentiment.
Smylie capped off an impressive first week under the lights at Roshn Group LIV Golf Riyadh, shooting a final-round bogey-free 8-under 64 on Saturday to hold off a hard-charging Jon Rahm by one stroke. He also led the Rippers to the team title, as the Aussies swept both trophies going into their biggest tournament of the season at LIV Golf Adelaide next week.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Smylie, who officially joined the team last month. “I really didn’t know what to expect this week. Playing at night is obviously a whole different ballgame out here. I wanted to come out here and make a statement. I wanted to prove that I’m one of the best out here, and I feel like I’ve done that. It’s only up from here.”
Smith agreed. “The crazy thing is I still think he’s got a lot of improving to go, which is pretty scary, really, for the rest of us, because he waxed us this week. I genuinely think he can be the best golfer in the world. He’s got all the tools of the trade. He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing and knuckle down.”
With the win, Smylie earns the projected points allotted by the Official World Golf Ranking to the winner of this week’s LIV Golf tournament. The OWGR announced earlier this week that points will be awarded for LIV Golf tournaments this season to the top 10 and ties. Smylie entered the week ranked 134th and is expected to move up significantly with the victory.
Smylie’s winning score of 24 under is the lowest in league history, a byproduct perhaps of the league’s adjusted format from 54 to 72 holes. He also beat the biggest field in LIV Golf history after an increase from 54 to 57 players this season.
But more impressive than the raw numbers was Smylie’s sublime play, especially with a new blade putter. “Everything looked like a bucket for me, which is nice,” said Smylie, who ranked third in the field in strokes gained putting.
He needed a hot putter down the stretch to create some separation from the field, then withstand the last-ditch rally by Rahm, the Legion XIII captain and two-time LIV Golf individual champion.
Rahm started the day two shots behind co-leaders Smylie and Peter Uihlein and was three strokes behind when Smylie birdied the par-4 12th. But the Spaniard closed fast with birdies on five of his last six holes, including the last four.
He drove the green at the 396-yard par-4 18th but could not convert the eagle putt. Still, his final birdie put the finishing touches on a 9-under bogey-free 63, the lowest round of the week, and reduced Smylie’s lead to one.
Smylie, however, was not aware of the slim margin until hitting his approach shot at the 18th that left him on the edge of the green.
“I actually didn’t know that I had to two-putt the last green,” he said. “I thought I would have had a two-shot lead going into 18. But as soon as I was walking up the green, I saw that I only had one, so I’m like, I’ve got to clutch up here and make sure to get this up-and-down.”
Rahm, who shot a final-round 11-under 60 in his last regular-season LIV Golf tournament in Indianapolis last year to clinch his second consecutive season-long title, pointed to his failure to make birdie at the par-5 sixth and a poor approach shot at the par-4 11th as missed opportunities. Even so, he was pleased with making a run to earn his fifth runner-up finish and 25th top-10 result in 27 regular-season LIV Golf appearances.
“It was a fantastic round of golf, shot 9-under,” he said. “Elvis had a great day and a two-shot lead. If anything, if there’s one or two shots to look at, I’ve got to go to earlier in the week.”
RangeGoats GC’s Uihlein finished third after shooting a 67 for 21 under, while Fireballs GC’s David Puig and 4Aces GC’s Thomas Pieters shot 65s to share fourth place with Torque GC’s Abraham Ancer.
The team competition turned into a battle between Ripper and Torque. The Australians started off fast, with Marc Leishman beginning his round with four straight birdies; the team collectively was 11 under through their first six holes.
Torque responded with Ancer, making his first start for his new team after four years with Fireballs GC, and Sebastian Munoz each shooting 66.
But the 64s by Smylie and Lucas Herbert were supported by Smith’s 65 and Leishman’s 69 to produce a fourth-round team score of 26 under, the third-best single round team score in league history. Ripper’s tournament total of 69 under is a league record as they won their fifth regular-season team title by three shots.
