Lionel Messi breaks 11-year duck with 36-yard strike for Inter Miami
Lionel Messi continues to impress at Inter Miami as they progressed to their first-ever cup final.
The MLS side comfortably beat Philadelphia Union 4-1 at Subaru Park and the Argentine scored his ninth goal for the club in the process. This goal was a special one as according to OptaJack on social media platform X, the 36-year-old’s long-range strike was measured at 36.3 yards.
This marked the farthest distance Messi has scored from in a club match since a 38.8-yard free kick scored against Real Mallorca in 2012. Josef Martinez, Jordi Alba and David Ruiz also made it onto the scoresheet, while Alejandro Bedoya scored Philadelphia’s consolation.
The result also means Miami has qualified for the Concacaf Champions Cup regional tournament next season, which may open up a path into Fifa's expanded Club World Cup in 2025. "Our goal was to qualify for international competition next season and we've done that," Miami boss Gerardo Martino said post-match.
"Now we have to prepare to win this tournament, which has us feeling very motivated and confident. That has us highly motivated and confident, but we are not allowing that to distract us from what we need as a team to get better. We don’t confuse our success so far with realizing we still have a long way to go.”
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Nashville SC, who defeated Monterrey 2-0 in the other semi-final, will be Miami’s opponents in Saturday's final (Sunday, 02:00 BST) at Geodis Park. This will be the club’s first-ever cup final and the 42nd final of Messi’s legendary career. The World Cup winner took to Instagram to post a series of images from the game and wrote: ”We worked our way to the finals and we made it. We're still on the last step.”
The addition of the experienced trio of Messi, Alba and Sergio Busquets has lifted the morale of the club and their quality has helped propel them to six straight victories. Martino has praised the former Barcelona players for their instant impact on the squad. “They (Messi, Busquets, & Alba) pass on this confidence to the younger players and (Messi) has this commitment to the game,” he said.
Inter Miami defeated Philadelphia Union to reach the Leagues Cup final (AP)“He's working a lot, especially on recovery balls and this is infectious to his teammates." Teenager and homegrown talent David Ruiz expressed his excitement to play alongside Messi, Busquets, and Alba and admitted that the other players feed off the advice of their three senior colleagues.
“It's changed a lot. Everybody has a winning mentality, and everybody's ready to play every tournament, win every game, and every final,” he said. “They’re players that obviously just try and give advice," he said.
"We're like, young and stuff, we try to run everywhere. That's something that they just told us: 'Oh, just maintain more your position, that the ball’s going to get to you. Stop running for the ball too much where you’re just trapping yourself' – things like that."
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