A vintage Lionel Messi performance carried Inter Miami past LAFC and into the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals.
Inter Miami came into the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals down 0–1 on aggregate. Just nine minutes into the match at Chase Stadium, Aaron Long bagged an all-important away goal for LAFC, meaning the Herons now had to score three goals to advance to the semifinals.
Messi pulled one back for the hosts with a lethal left-footed strike from just inside the box, giving Hugo Lloris no chance at stopping the ball from crashing into the back of the net. Then, Noah Allen gave the hosts the 2–1 lead on the night, but the Herons still needed one more goal to advance in the competition.
Who else but Messi to step up when Inter Miami need him most? The Argentine buried Inter Miami's third goal from the spot in the 84th minute to eliminate LAFC 3–2 on aggregate.
Check out three takeaways from Inter Miami's thrilling comeback below.






