Lionel Messi made it eight consecutive wins to begin his Inter Miami career, helping his team overturn a 2-0 deficit to defeat FC Cincinnati in a shootout at the U.S. Open Cup semi-final on Wednesday night
Inter Miami and Lionel Messi defied belief again Wednesday night by flipping a late deficit into a U.S. Open Cup semi-final victory in a penalty shootout. The victory salvaged Messi’s chances of earning the treble in his first campaign, and his two assists and converted shootout attempt were instrumental in the comeback.
A deflected 18th-minute effort from FC Cincinnati star Luciano Acosta snuck by Leagues Cup hero Drake Callender at the near post, and United States men’s national team striker Brandon Vazquez doubled the lead with a shot stung low and hard from outside the box.
But Messi, who struggled to find open space for most of the match, brought Inter Miami back into the match with a floated free-kick from the wing that found the wide-open head of a charging Leonardo Campana in the 68th minute. It was the type of moment Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan had warned his team about, and one that foreshadowed their defensive collapse.
“You could spend 89 minutes doing as good of a job as you can to stop an important player,” said Noonan before the game. “And in one moment, even with the right defensive structure, the right numbers around the ball, he still has the ability to change the game with the spectacular.”