The ball was going over the line. Surely. Definitely. Inter Miami would be behind. Lionel Messi’s chance at capturing the trophy he most wanted to win would be teetering on a knife’s edge. And perhaps most distressingly to Inter Miami, two retiring legends, Sergi Busquets and Jordi Alba, would be closing in on ignominious ends. They would have come to MLS to accompany Messi, their friend, but would end their time on the field as losers of a final, the type of game they so often won at club and international level.
All that ball had to do was cross the line. The Vancouver Whitecaps’ Emmanuel Sabbi had imbued it with a seeming destiny after a virtuoso run into the heart of the Inter Miami defense. His left-footed effort wrapped around the outstretched hand of Miami goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo. It smacked the inside of the far post. It bounced on the line.
