Lionel Messi, Inter Miami oust LAFC with chaotic 3-goal comeback in CONCACAF Champions Cup
Inter Miami scored three unanswered goals to top LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals. The catalyst? Lionel Messi, of course. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
(Megan Briggs via Getty Images)
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami stormed back from two goals down to top LAFC in a chaotic CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal Wednesday.
In a reprise of the most recent World Cup final, Messi beat LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from the penalty spot to complete a triumphant comeback and claim a spot in the semifinals of North and Central America’s premier club competition.
An hour earlier, Messi had kick-started the comeback with a wonderful goal. That brought Inter Miami level in the second leg of this two-part series. But they were still behind on aggregate after last week’s first leg, which ended 1-0 to LAFC; and behind on away goals, after LAFC’s Aaron Long scored in the ninth minute of Wednesday’s decider.
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So, the hosts needed three goals. Messi sent the first rippling into the top corner.
In the 61st minute, a bizarre second goal slipped past Lloris off the foot of Noah Allen, and the hosts began to believe.
The third, though, seemed elusive. Luis Suárez thought he’d scored it in the 67th minute; Chase Stadium erupted, and for a fleeting moment, Miami had a lead. But an an assistant referee’s flag annulled the goal. A VAR review apparently confirmed that Suárez was narrowly offside — though the VAR seemed to have drawn digital lines from the wrong LAFC defender.
Inter Miami fumed. Head coach Javier Mascherano spun in circles, in search of answers. Thousands of fans felt wronged.
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Messi, though, from the moment he saw the flag, stayed calm.
And so, when LAFC inexplicably failed to clear an uncontested ball in its own penalty box — when it dropped onto Marlon’s arm, and when VAR recommended a check, and when referee César Ramos pointed to the penalty spot — Messi stepped up.
He froze Lloris, just as he’d done twice on Dec. 18, 2022, in Qatar.
He dragged Miami to the semis, where it’ll face the winners of Wednesday’s late match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Liga MX’s Pumas.
And he kept dreams alive.
When he, Suárez and their FC Barcelona friends came to Inter Miami in 2023, they came with grand ambitions. They entered Major League Soccer and other competitions; they eyed four trophies in all. “And,” Suarez pondered aloud in his first week at the club, “why not dream of winning all four titles?”
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They won their first, the nascent Leagues Cup, in 2023. They won their second, the MLS Supporters’ Shield, in 2024. The CONCACAF Champions Cup, though, stood tall as the region’s most daunting soccer mountain.
They tried to climb it last spring, but stumbled at the quarterfinal stage in Monterrey. They climbed again in 2025, but here, back in the quarters, they initially struggled. LAFC stifled Messi and stole a 1-0 win in last week’s first leg. Miami, once again, was staring at elimination.
But this time, Messi found his footing. He and the Herons surged into the semis. And a third trophy emerged in the distance, now almost within reach.
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They know, of course that tougher tests await. They have not yet faced a Mexican foe; eventually, they’ll have to beat one, with Cruz Azul and Tigres set to tussle in the other semifinal.
But they have beaten everyone drawn into their path thus far. And they will strike fear into anyone who appears in the future, for one very simple reason: They have Lionel Messi.
