In just about a month on the team, Lionel Messi has already helped Inter Miami win its first trophy. Now, they’re 90 minutes away from the second one, after his performance lifted the team to a win in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.
During Wednesday night’s match vs. Cincinnati, Messi finished with two assists in the thrilling penalty-kick victory. Messi’s second assist was a perfectly-placed ball to Leonardo Campana, who cooly finished in the 97th minute to equalize at 2–2 just before the final whistle.
MESSI WITH THE UNREAL ASSIST TO SEND IT TO EXTRA TIME 🤯
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 24, 2023
(via @CBSSportsGolazo)pic.twitter.com/YqXETJemJi
After each team score in extra time, the match was sent to penalties, where Messi scored the first one for Inter Miami and 18-year-old Benjamin Cremaschi finished things off to win the shootout 5–4 and send the team to the final.
Final-Bound 🥳 | @opencup @intermiamicf pic.twitter.com/0QCoGHCxJb
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) August 24, 2023
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has yet to make his official MLS debut since he decided to leave Paris Saint-Germain back in June. Wednesday night marked Messi’s eighth competition with Inter Miami, but all of the matches have been within the Leagues Cup or U.S. Open Cup.
Since joining the MLS after spending nearly two decades in Europe, the Argentine superstar has scored 10 goals and has yet to lose a match.
Messi is set to make his MLS debut this Saturday, Aug. 26 vs. New York Red Bulls.
But after another Messi masterclass on Wednesday night, it’s another final to look forward to for Inter Miami.
