Lionel Messi, Inter Miami soar past Philadelphia Union into Leagues Cup final

Miami, as has become their forte during this stunning Leagues Cup run, opened the scoring early – this time via Josef Martínez’s 3rd-minute strike that beat Union goalkeeper Andre Blake after latching onto Sergii Kryvtsov’s ball in behind.

Messi then padded his Golden Boot lead, reaching nine goals in his first six Miami matches with a 20th-minute golazo. The Argentine superstar unleashed a 30-yard blast past Blake, continuing his incredible MLS journey since a July 15 deal began Miami’s high-end summer roster transformation.

Philadelphia thought they had a lifeline in the 73rd minute when veteran midfielder Alejandro Bedoya marked his return from injury by pulling one back via a corner-kick scramble. But those hopes were extinguished in the 84th minute after Miami homegrown midfielder David Ruíz capped the 4-1 result – ensuring the visitors have scored four goals in four of six Leagues Cup matches this summer.