Author: Amrit Santlani
Lionel Messi continued his surprising start to life in the United States by scoring his eighth goal in five games for Inter Miami, helping the team advance to the semi-finals of the League Cup. The David Beckham-owned club thrashed their opponents 4-0, continuing their splendid run of form since Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba joined the team.
Before Messi’s arrival, the club hadn’t won for 12 games, but the Argentine has completely changed his team’s fortunes. The 36-year-old continued his winning streak by scoring the team’s fourth goal after own goals from Josef Martinez, Robert Taylor and Adilson Malanda.
On Friday night, Inter Miami hosted Charlotte at the DRV PNK Stadium, looking to keep their dream run going. Just ten minutes into the game, Inter Miami had a penalty awarded for a handball. Dixon Arroyo was the target of a clumsy challenge and Martinez stepped up to take the penalty.
Before the break, Tata Martino’s men should have made it 2-0 after Taylor and Messi exchanged passes, but Kristijan Kahlina stood firm. In the next attack, they managed to score a second goal, after DeAndre Yedlin passed to Taylor, who hit a beautiful shot past Kahlina. Charlotte came close, but none of their attempts tested Drake Callender enough. Patrick Agyemang also shot from outside the area, but Callender stood firm. Agyemang missed another chance and Messi had his shot denied by Kahlina.
Messi and Co continued to threaten when Adilson Malanda inadvertently sent the ball into his own net. Diego Gómez was blocked by Kahlina once again, before Leonardo Campana cut the ball back for Messi, who scored his eighth goal since joining the club. The Argentinian continued his trend of celebrating Marvel movies by scoring a special “Spider-Man” goal.
Messi’s Inter Miami will face Philadelphia in the semi-final on Wednesday, August 16. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will try to win his first trophy since arriving at Inter Miami.