The Leagues Cup was Lionel Messi’s first title with Inter Miami when he moved to the club in 2023. However, the club was unable to defend this title in the 2024 season.
On the morning of August 14, Inter Miami met Columbus Crew in the 1/16 round of the 2024 Leagues Cup.
Messi did not play in this match due to an injury he suffered in the Copa America final. However, Inter Miami still had a 2-goal lead thanks to Matias Rojas and Diego Gomez.
Inter Miami led for 2/3 of the match. However, everything changed
after 2 consecutive goals in the 67th and 69th minutes thanks to Ramirez and Diego Rossi, helping Columbus equalize the score.
Since then, the home team regained control of the game and continuously overwhelmed Inter Miami.
As a result, in the 80th minute, Rossi completed his double, putting Columbus up 3-2.
The remaining time is too short for Inter Miami to create a miracle. In the end, Inter Miami became the former Leagues Cup champion when they had to stop in the round of 16.
Inter Miami is going through a difficult time without Messi. El Punga has not been able to return to play since the national team training session to prepare for Copa America in June.
Leagues Cup is an international tournament between the US Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs and the Mexican championship. Previously, Messi and his teammates also lost to Monterrey in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup 2024. Currently, Inter Miami only has one arena to strive for, which is MLS. The good news is that they are still leading the Eastern Conference with 53 points, 5 points more than the second-placed team, Cincinnati.
Messi suffered an ankle injury in the Copa America 2024 final against Colombia. In the 65th minute of the final, Messi suddenly lay down and held his leg even though he did not collide with anyone. He was immediately taken off the field.
It is still unclear when Messi will be able to return to action. The 37-year-old star has missed the last six games for Inter Miami.
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Source: USA Today
