Two years after landing on the MLS and accumulating disappointments, Lionel Messi This Saturday he gave Inter Miami his first league when overcoming 3-1 to Vancouverin which was the farewell to professional football Sergio Busquets y Jordi Alba.
It was a sunny and hot afternoon in Fort Lauderdalein the north of Miami, ideal for the MLS Cup dispute. In addition to the farewell of Busquets and Messi, there was a new duel between Messi and
Müller, captain of the Canadians
Fate seemed to have conspired so that this time, Inter could achieve success. Fortune smiled on him as soon as it started, with the 1-0 in the 8th minute thanks to an own goal from Vancouver in an unlucky action by the Colombian. Édier Ocampo.
Messi started the play with a great pass to Rodrigo dePaul that opened on the right wing for Tadeo Allende. Allende put a center that had Matteo Silvetti as a target but that Ocampo pushed without Yohei Takaoka could do anything.
That right wing with Messi and Allende continued to create danger in the initial stretch of the game. Silvetti had the second in his boots in another Allende cross, but the ball slipped between his legs.
From there, Vancouver began to overcome the hostile environment of Miami, getting closer to the goal of Rocco Rios with great danger and dominating the men of Javier Mascherano.
In the 33rd minute, Ríos stopped a ball combed by Brian White saving Inter for the first time this afternoon.
He was back in the photo five minutes later, blocking a point-blank shot from Emmanuel Sabbi. And in the 41st minute he saved a header from Müller for a Vancouver team that insistently sought an equalizer.
Vancouver stands up
After the restart, Vancouver maintained the pressure with which they had closed the first half until they collected the prize of the tie in the 60th minute.
Sabbi started from the right and gave way to White on the front who, with his back to the goal, enabled Ali Ahmed, who scored at the short post and converted after an error by the Argentine goalkeeper Ríos, whose save ended up in the back of the net.
With almost no time to assimilate the tie, Sabbi signed a play in which he broke lines, stood in the danger zone and took a shot that hit both posts, very fortunately for Inter.
Just at that moment, Vancouver’s best, Inter Miami took the lead again. Messi stole a ball in a dangerous area Andres Cubas and he gave it to Rodrigo de Paul who was left alone against Takaoka to make the score 2-1.
There the game began to slip away from Vancouver, which did not dominate again or enjoy opportunities while the nerves took over its players.
Busquets and Messi, in their last dance, controlled the passing of the minutes until in added time, with the stands overturned, the Argentine star gave his second lethal assist of the afternoon, this one for Allende, who sealed the score 3-1.
There was no time for more. The pharaonic project of David Beckham and the Mas brothers, who recreated Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in Miami and in the MLS, thus achieved their greatest sporting success five years after their debut.
3 – Inter Miami: Rocco Rios; Ian Fray (Marcelo Weigandt, m.90+1), Maximiliano Falcón, Noah Allen, Jordi Alba; Rodrigo de Paul, Sergio Busquets, Baltasar Rodríguez (Telasco Segovia, m.56); Matteo Silvetti (Yannick Bright, m.78), Tadeo Allende and Lionel Messi.
1 – Vancouver: Yohei Takaoka; Mathías Laborda, Ralph Priso (Joedrick Pupe, M.68), Tristan Black, Édier Ocampo; Andrés Cubas (Ki Cabrera, M.82), Sebastian Berhalter Ali Ahmed (Ryan Gauld, M.68), Thomas Müeller, Emmanuel Sabbi (Jayden Nelson, M.90+1); Brian White.
Goals: 1-0, m.8: Édier Ocampo, own goal. 1-1, m.60: Ali Ahmed. 2-1, m.71: Rodrigo de Paul. 3-1, m.96: Tadeo Allende.
Arbitrator: Drew Fischer (Canada). He cautioned Baltasar Rodríguez, Maximiliano Falcón and Rodrigo de Pausl from Inter Miami and Brian White, Édier Ocampo, Tristan Blackman, Andrés Cubas and Mathías Laborda from Vancouver.
Incidents: final of the MLS Cup played at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale (Florida) before 21,500 spectators.
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