MIA 4-0 CLT, Leagues Cup quarterfinal HIGHLIGHTS: Messi scores as Inter Miami demolishes Charlotte to advance to semifinal

A proper demolition job comes to an end as Inter Miami advances into the semifinal of the Leagues Cup.

Inter Miami continues to pressure the opposition. Messi plays a long ball towards Gomez, who takes a couple of steps inside the box and tries to find the far corner but Kahlina dives to save it. Two minutes added

MESSSSIIIIIIII!!! HE JUST CANT STOP SCORING! Sloppy defending from Charlotte. Messi from the middle played a through ball towards Campana, who was man marked by two defenders who could’ve easily countered him. But they do exactly the opposite as Campana retained possession on the left. Hen then sent it inside the box towards Messi, who slotted it past Kahlina without much trouble

Corner for Miami as Gomez’ shot is punched away by Kahlina. Messi takes the kick, opts for the short ball to Taylor but the attack fails to develop as Charlotte gains possession

OWN GOAL! Like adding fuel to fire, after the missed chance by Agyemang, a quick counter from Miami caught Charlotte napping. Messi takes advantage and sends in a throuogh ball inside the box that is slotted in by Malanda!

CHANCE! Agyemang gets a wonderfully worked lofted ball inside the box from Vargas, the Charlotte player tries to head it inside but squanders the chance

After a short hyderation break, the game resumes with Miami getting on the offense right away. Substitutes Ruiz and Gomez initiate the attack. Ruiz then finds Messi in the middle, who tries to find an opening with three defenders marking him. He plays a through ball inside the box but it is cleared easily

OUT: Taylor, IN: Gomez; OUT: Cremaschi IN: Ruiz

Messi through to Taylor on the left. He then gets it back inside the box and tries to finish it in one go but Kahlina saves it quite easily. Corner for Miami

Messi tries to counter. He sees Yedlin on the right flank and sends a through ball but it travels way faster than the Miami defender

Miller flicks away a dangerous ball that came inside the box from Vargas

OUT: Bender, IN: Vargas

This time Miller is booked as he pushes Agyemang down

Westwood is penalised for his foul on Messi

Agyemang initiates a Charlotte attack as he runs inside the right side of the box. He tries to cross it but could only find Bronico. The latter then tries to cross it in towards Bender but the ball is cleared away

OUT: Martinez, IN: Campana

Swiderski tries his luck from a long way out. Goes agonisingly close to the crossbar with Callender diving full length

A long ball comes towards Taylor, who is marked by two defenders. But the Miami player gets hold of the ball via a wonderful first touch. He then finds Messi near the 18 yard box. Messi then tries to play it inside the box but gets intercepted

Messi’s solo brilliance stuns the Charlotte defense as he blazes past three defenders and into the box before putting in a shot that is punched by Kahlina. On the rebound, Messi tries to find someone inside the box through a cross but it is cleared away eventually

With a two goal advantage, Inter Miami will facy a win and an entry into the semifinal of the Leagues Cup. It will most probably face Phialdelphia, which is winning 1-0 agianst Queretaro

Substitutions for Charlotte:

OUT: Jozwiak, IN: Dejaegere; OUT: Arfield IN: Agyemang

Westwood tries it different this time. A short pass towards Arfield but nothing comes off it as Miami defenders gang up on him to clear it away. Just after, the referee blows the whistle

Corner for Charlotte. Westwood will take it. Floats it to the back post and Arroyo clears it away for another corner. Westwood takes that as well, a similar ball inside and an identical result, third corner for Charlotte

Arroyo gifts possession away inside his own half. Afful tries to take advantage of the situation but Messi is there to poke the ball away. Miami could’ve been in a tricky situation if not for its captain. Five added minutes by the way..

Bender gets the ball on the right lane and sends in a searching cross inside the box but Yedlin heads it away

Into the final minutes of the first half. Miami has kept Charlotte on the backfoot, thanks to the former Barcelona trio of Messi, Busquets and Alba. The three, alongside Martinez have kept the defense guessing and have found success with that as well

Bender and Jozniak try to break past the Miami defense but Yedlin has other ideas. He stops Jozniak on his tracks with a superb interception

Time for a hyderation break

ROBERT TAYLOR SCORES AS MIAMI DOUBLES THE LEAD! Busquets found Yedlin at the edge of the box via a wonderful long ball. The latter then played it inside the box towards Taylor, who slotted it past Kahlina without trouble

Kahlina saves Messi’s shot! Miami has been pressuring the defense for a while and that has led to this opening. Messi, Alba and Taylor played short passes to orchestrate the attack which finally saw Messi taking the shot

Counter from Charlotte. Arfield puts the ball towards Jozwiak on the left. The latter tries to play a long ball inside the box but is intercepted away for a throw

Yedlin puts in an impressive interception near the box. Messi collects the ball, makes a 180 degree turn and chips it inside the box but there’s no one to recieve it. Kahlina collects the ball comfortably

A Busquets-Messi link up inititates a Miami attack. Messi plays it towards the left lane as Alba picks it up but he is forced to backtack as a group of defenders converge on him

Free kick for Miami as Miller is clipped by Swiderski. Miami has dominated the game so far and Tata Martino would hope his men would continue to exploit the Charlotte defense

PENALTY FOR INTER MIAMI AS ARROYO IS PUSHED DOWN INSIDE THE BOX! Martinez will take it. MAKES IT LOOK EASY AS HE SLOTS IT TO THE LOWER LEFT CORNER. Kahlina can only look as he dives the other way. The Miami forward, who was the side’s top scorer last season, had found it difficult to find his feet this season and Messi letting him take the penalty will only boost his morale going forward

Cremaschi is down and it looks like he’s hurt his knee. The medical team rushes in to attend the 18yo. who scored in Miami’s win against FC Dallas. He’s back up but will spend a while on the sidelines to regain stability

Messi’s first big play of the match involves his former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba. The Miami captain gets the ball near the half way line and plays a wonderful long ball towards Alba on the left lane. The latter then tries to float in a cross towards Martinez but it is cleared away

A sedate start to the final-eight game. Miller gets the ball deep inside Miami’s half, he puts it towards Callender, who struggles to recieve it but plays a long ball in eventually

Martinez will get the ball rolling and Miami will start left to right. It’s a packed DRV PNK stadium and the “MESSI, MESSI” chants have started

The players have taken the field and the stage is set. Will Messi’s Inter Miami keep its winning-run intact or will Charlotte be the first to taste a win against Miami in the Messi era? Let’s wait

In other news, the English Premier League kicked-off with defending champion Manchester City getting a comfortable 3-0 win against Burnley. We at Sportstar have put together a list of predictions. You can have a look and let us know on X (a.f.k.aTwitter) your predictions for the season as well:

Premier League 2023-24 Predictions ft. Sportstar: Champion, top-four, golden boot & more

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

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Inter Miami CF: W-W-W-W

Charlotte FC: W-W-W-W

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

Charlotte: ahlina, Lindsey, Malanda, Privett, Byrne, Westwood, Jozwiak, Arfield, Bronico, Vargas, Swiderski

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will take on Charlotte FC in the quarterfinal of the Leagues Cup on Saturday at the DRV PNK Stadium in Florida.

Inter Miami will aim to extend its Leagues Cup winning-streak.

It earned its place among the last eight teams in the competition by claiming four consecutive wins. The side defeated LIGA MX side Cruz Azul 1-2 and Atlanta United 4-0 at DRV PNK Stadium in the group stage.

From there, Miami knocked out rival Orlando City in a convincing 3-1 win at home and clinched a quarterfinal berth on the road with a penalty shootout win over FC Dallas, in a round of 16 match featuring a staggering eight goals in regulation.’

Charlotte meanwhile, will come to South Florida after defeating Houston Dynamo FC 2-1 in the round of 16. Prior to eliminating Houston, the North Carolina-based side knocked out Cruz Azul in penalties in the round of 32 and defeated FC Dallas and Necaxa in the group stage.