MIA 4-1 PHI HIGHLIGHTS: Messi scores as Inter Miami progresses to Leagues Cup final

And that is it. Messi and Inter Miami are into the Leagues Cup final. They will either face Monterrey or Nashville on August 19th

Three added minutes

OUT: Gazdag IN: Torres

OUT: Arroyo IN: McVey; OUT: Alba IN: Allen

Now it’s done and dusted. Yedlin with a superb run on the right flank before sending it inside the box towards Ruiz who slotted it in to seal the deal!

Into the final 10 minutes and Philadelphia is still trailing by 2 goals. It needs a miracle here to pull off a draw, let alone a win

OUT: Cremaschi IN: Ruiz

BEDOYA PULLS ONE BACK! Corner awarded for Philadelphia, a well directed ball comes into the box, takes a deflection off a Philly player and went towards Bedoya who found the back of the net with ease

OUT: Donovan IN: Sullivan; OUT: Bueno IN: Bedoya

What a turn of events!! After Philly’s failed attempt at goal, Campana makes a solo run inside the box and shoots but is saved by Blake. Messi gets it on the rebound, shoots but it goes just wide!

Great ball into the box from Wagner. Glesnes jumps to get his foot on the ball but fails to keep it on target

Messi and Yedlin put up a protest after Gomez is fouled by Bueno, who is already on a yellow. But the referee thinks otherwise. Gomez is taken off the pitch to regain stamina and is back in after a short break

Yedlin is booked for time wasting after delaying a throw in

IN: Campana OUT: Martinez; IN: Gomez OUT: Taylor

Sensational save from Callender. He’s been terrific throughout. Donovan tried to head it inside but a full length dive from the keeper denies a goal for Philly

Wagner serves it in. Harriel gets the ball inside the box but the referee blows the whistle. Reason? handball

Donovan gets the ball with no one but Callender between him and the goal. He successfully takes the ball past the keeper but fails to keep the shot on target as a chance goes begging

Another similar attack from Miami. Messi to Cremaschi on the right. This time he takes matters in his own hands, takes it inside the box and tries to chip it over Blake but the ball goes wide

Messi with a swift set of moves initiates a counter for Miami. He directs the ball towards Martinez inside the box, but he decides to leave it for Cremaschi on the right flank. The latter then tries to send in a cross but fails due to too much activity inside the box

Philadelphia looks much more threatening this time around. Gazdag gets the ball on the left and he enters the final third. Sends in a dangerous cross but there’s no one to recieve it. Would’ve been a cakewalk had someone been inside the box

IN: McGlynn OUT: Flach; IN: Uhre OUT: Lowe

Wagner gets the ball rolling as Philly chases the unimaginable

What was touted to be an evenly poised matchup before the start, has become one-sided within the first half. Miami leads three goals to nil and Philadelphia has a mountain to climb in the second 45 minutes. The main takeaway from this half will be the relentless attempts from Miami that kept the defense thinking and made them pay when it mattered. Yet another demolition job awaits Miami

ALBA SCORES HIS FIRST IN MIAMI COLOURS! Wonderful composure from Taylor near the halfway line, who initiated the attack despite three defenders marking him. He pushed a through ball on the left towards a running Alba, who makes his way into the box to finish it without problem!

Four added minutes

Kyrsvtsov is down and in pain after he collided with Donovan in an attempt to win the ball near halfway line. He is back up shortly after

Bueno tries to play one inside the box from the right flank but Busquets intercepts before the ball reaches Wagner

Yedlin gets fouled and needs the medical team’s assistance. And the game resumes after a short hyderation break

Harriel takes the kick this time. Sends it in, Wagner gets his head to it but it goes well wide. Miami and Callender can finally breath a sigh of relief

Bueno takes the corner. Sends in a searching ball but there are too many Miami defenders inside the box and they clear it with ease. Another corner and Callender punches it out for yet another corner

Free kick for Philly as Arroyo clips Glesnes’ boots. Harriel delivers it into the box but it is defended and eventually goes out for a corner

Superb diving save from Callender. Gazdag tried his luck from a long way out but Callender anticipated it correctly as he dove to his right to save it comfortably

Philadelphia has lost just once across competitions at home since 2022. Seems that spotless record is being undone by Messi and Co.

Another Philly man is booked. Bueno is shown the yellow for a rash tackle on Arroyo

Lowe is booked for the foul on Martinez during the buildup to Messi’s goal

WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT! LIONEL MESSI SCORES HIS 9TH IN THE TOURNAMENT! Martinez with a superb pass despite being fouled by Lowe near the half way line. Messi gets it, takes a couple of steps forward and slotted it to the lower left corner from a long way out

In this edition of the League Cup, Miami has never lost after scoring first and it will look to keep that record intact

Alba showcases his brilliance with a superb long ball towards Martinez, who was marked by the last defender. He tries to shake him off but fails and finds Messi in the center and gets the ball back immediately but the attack is averted

Philadelphia is getting exposed constantly but Martinez’ inability to retain ball posession near the box is proving costly for the away side

Philadelphia getting more physical by each passing minute. Busquets looked to break away on the right flank but Wagner collides onto him to stop him in his tracks. Free kick for Miami but nothing happens

WHAT A CHANCE! Superb through ball from Wagner on the buildup as he found Gazdag inside the box. It was only the latter and Callender in close quarters but Gazdag hit it straight to the goalkeeper as an attempt goes begging

Miami with another attack. Jordi Alba initiates it as he finds Taylor on the left, who tried to take it to the final third but there is proper cover as he has to backtrack towards Arroyo and the attack fades away

THREE MINUTES IN AND MARTINEZ OPENS THE SCORING FOR MIAMI! Wonderful long ball from Kyrsvtov that pierced through the defense and went straight to Martinez, whose first touch was excellent. And he slotted it to the left bottom corner past Blake

Inter Miami takes it slow and steady but has maintained posession for a good one, one and a half minutes. Messi’s side has resorted to this pattern, starting off slow, gain ball control and pressurise the opponent

Martinez gets the ball rolling as Inter Miami starts from left to right

The players have made their way into the middle and the kick off is around the corner. Inter Miami has gone with an unchanged 11. Its skipper Lionel Messi felt a niggle during training yesterday but was declared fit to start after medical intervention. A chance for him to score his 9th for Inter Miami!

Philadelphia: W-W-W-W-W

Inter Miami: W-W-W-W-W

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Lionel Messi and Inter Miami FC look to continue its storybook run in the Leagues Cup when it faces the host Philadelphia Union in a semifinal on Tuesday night in Chester.

Messi, the reigning World Cup Golden Ball winner for Argentina, made his debut for Miami as the Leagues Cup began after completing his signing with the Herons last month.

He’s been the most dynamic player in the competition contested among all 47 clubs of MLS and Liga MX, scoring eight goals and assisting two more while helping Miami post a 4-0-1 record in the tournament.

That’s a dramatic reversal of form for Miami, which is still in last in the MLS Eastern Conference regular season standings and had gone winless in 11 league games prior to Messi’s arrival.

“We’ve kind of been through a lot this year,” Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender said. “So for us to play well in Leagues Cup, for our first time in this tournament, has been good just to kind of build that morale, build that mentality, get that feeling of winning back.”

Miami cruised to a 4-0 win over Charlotte in a home quarterfinal on Friday night. But the Union on paper should provide the toughest test Messi’s Miami has faced and will mark only the second time Messi has hit the road in this tournament.

Philadelphia has won the last two Eastern Conference regular season titles and is third in those standings again this season after a slow start.

The Union are likely to have attacking midfielder Daniel Gazdag back in the fold after he missed Friday’s 2-1 quarterfinal win over Mexico side Queretaro with a mild knee sprain. However, regular-season scoring leader Julian Carranza could miss out after suffering a mild hamstring strain in the late stages of that win.

Gazdag has four goals this tournament -- including three from the penalty spot. Eight of his nine league goals have also come from penalties, and he also leads the Union with nine regular-season assists.

“He trained today fully and looked great,” Philly manager Jim Curtin said of Gazdag on Monday. “Happy to have him back and it’s a relief that it wasn’t more serious. He’s Hungarian. He’s tough by nature and he’s not missing this one.”

-Reuters

Philadelphia: Blake, Glesnes, Elliott, Lowe, Martinez, Mbaizo, Wagner, Anez, McGlynn, Carranza, Uhre

Inter Miami: Callender, Yedlin, Kryvtsov, Miller, Alba, Busquets, Arroyo, Cremaschi, Messi, Martinez, Taylor

When does the Leagues Cup semifinal between Inter Miami and Philadelphia start?

The Leagues Cup match between Inter Miami and Philadelphia will kick-off at 4:30am IST at the Subaru Park on August 16.

Where can I watch the Leagues Cup semifinal between Inter Miami and Philadelphia?

The Leagues Cup match between Inter Miami and Philadelphia can be live streamed on Apple TV+ in India. The match unfortunately, will not be telecast in India.