Messi leads Inter to a historic Champions Cup result. Who will Miami play in the semi-finals?

In the early hours of Thursday, April 10, Inter Miami hosted the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal against LAFC. The Californian side had won the first leg 1–0.

It was LAFC who struck first again, scoring in the 9th minute to take a 2–0 lead on aggregate. But Inter Miami, led by their talisman and captain Lionel Messi, refused to back down. Messi initially found the net in the 31st minute, but the goal was disallowed. Just four minutes later, he made no mistake and leveled the score on the night – 1–1.

After the break, Miami continued to push forward, eventually finding a second goal. Messi provided an assist to young Noah Allen, who took his chance well and equalized the aggregate score at 2–2. Just six minutes later, Luis Suárez appeared to make it 3–1, but VAR intervened once again and ruled the goal out.

Still, there was no stopping Messi and Inter Miami. In the 84th minute, they earned a penalty, and the Argentine calmly converted from the spot to make it 3–1. That proved to be the decisive moment, as the Herons completed the comeback and advanced to the semifinals with a 3–2 aggregate win.

This marks a historic milestone for Inter Miami, who have never reached this stage of the competition before. In the semifinal, they will face fellow MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps.