In the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Leagues Cup 2023, Lionel Messi shone brightly to help Inter Miami beat Philadelphia 4-1 to advance to the final.

Two strong candidates for the championship CONCACAF Leagues Cup 2023 Inter Miami and Philadelphia faced each other in the semi-finals on the morning of August 16. Both teams have shown excellent performance so far in this playground.

Right in the 3rd minute, from Kryvtsov’s long pass, striker Martinez crossed to the corner to hit Philadelphia, opening the score 1-0 for Inter Miami.

Lionel Messi consecutively scored in the Inter Miami shirt (Image: Getty).

However, Inter Miami’s defense was somewhat subjective when 5 minutes later, Philadelphia midfielder Gazdag failed to finish in the situation facing Callender, almost equaling 1-1.

The home team, Inter Miami, dominated the game, but Philadelphia counter-attacked sharply. Gazdag corrected his mind by having to put the ball out of the box from outside the goal of Inter Miami.

In the 30th minute, Martinez was cut down in the middle of the field but the referee gave Inter Miami the advantage. Messi dropped a long shot from a distance of nearly 30m. The ball went tight, sinking into the far corner, causing the Philadelphia goalkeeper to fly all the way and could not touch the ball. Inter Miami leads 2-0.

Inter Miami played leisurely, but they were sharp in the ball phase. In the last minute of injury time of the first half, Taylor poked a slot for Alba to break into the penalty area and then coldly finished to raise the score to 3-0. This is the final result of the first half.

The second half went on with the game open, but both teams squandered scoring opportunities. In the 59th minute, Messi again passed the ball to create an opportunity for his teammates, but this time Robert Taylor made the mistake.

A minute later, from Philadelphia’s cross on the right, striker Donovan hit a dangerous header to the bottom left corner but goalkeeper Callender pushed the ball away, saving Inter Miami.

Messi’s shine helps Inter Miami reach the final of the 2023 Leagues Cup (Image: Getty).

In the next situation, Jakob Glesnes missed the opportunity when he finished from close range to send the ball over the crossbar at Inter Miami. In the 69th minute, Messi dribbled the ball past the Philadelphia goalkeeper, but he hit the opponent’s foot again.

Philadelphia’s efforts paid off in the 73rd minute, the Miami defender broke through and hit Busquets’ foot, allowing striker Alejandro Bedoya to kick back with the outside of his right foot to score a goal to reduce the score to 1-3.

In the 85th minute, Inter Miami put an end to the opponent. Yedlin had a slot for David Ruiz to drop down to seal a 4-1 victory. Messi and his teammates are present in the final of CONCACAF Leagues Cup 2023.

Inter Miami’s starting lineup (Image: MLS).

The CONCACAF Leagues Cup is an international tournament between the American Professional League (MLS) clubs and the Mexican championship. Inter Miami will play a historic match to compete for the first title, against Monterrey or Nashville on the morning of August 20.

Due to being in the final, Inter Miami also won a place in the CONCACAF Champions Cup 2024 – a tournament similar to the Champions League for North Central American clubs.