Whitecaps vs. Inter Miami Live: Home team up 2-1 in thrilling 2nd half

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The big day has arrived. Müller vs. Messi. Vancouver vs. Miami. Today Major League Soccer crowns its champion.

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Follow along here for coverage of today’s MLS Cup final in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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90th minute

We’re into stoppage time.

Ian Fray, who Ahmed was lighting up earlier, is struggling. He’s going to be replaced by Marcelo Weigandt.

Jordan Nelson comes on for Emmanuel Sabbi.

Seven minutes of added time.

84th minute

Caps play a long ball in front of Sabbi and the ball bounces off Jordi Alba for a corner. Vancouver can’t get their head on it, but they then win a free kick in midfield.

The ball comes into the area and it’s Muller who takes a wild effort to strike the ball misses, then it comes to Sabbi he gets his foot on it, but skies the shot.

80th minute

Ten minutes to go. Caps looking a little tired. They’ve working so hard today but starting to struggle to retain possession in the final third.

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Kenji Cabrera is getting set to come on, to inject pace.

Cubas, who had that one bad moment but otherwise was very solid today, comes off.

77th minute

Whitecaps need to find some spark here. The home crowd has come back to life and Miami is playing with vigour again.

Vancouver is taking foul after foul right now.

Miami makes a swap, the very speedy Mateo Silvetti comes off for a more defensive minded player in Yannick Bright.

74th minute Yellow card

A heavy, heavy challenge by Cubas on Messi puts the superstar to the ground and brings out a caution from the ref.

71st minute GOAL!!

Miami is back in front. After the Caps calmly stopped a Miami attack, Andres Cubas is caught dithering on the ball and is stripped of possession by Messi who immediately puts a through ball for Rodrigo De Paul and the Argentine strike fires the ball to Takaoka’s right.

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The home team leads, against the run of play.

66th minute Yellow card

Tristan Blackmon is cautioned for a block on a Miami defender.

Ralph Priso is down with what looks like a cramp. He’s been an absolute master today, a sensational development at centre back.

Joedrick Pupe looks set to come on for him. Ryan Gauld is coming on too. Ahmed comes off.

62nd minute 

Whitecaps are keeping the pedal to the metal.

They spring through the suddenly leaking Miami defence, it’s Emmanuel Sabbi springing through and he fires a shot to the keeper’s left, his right and it hits the inside of the post and bounces out, not in.

Sabbi screams at the sky. Brian White puts his hand on his head.

Whitecaps are all over Miami: Apple TV’s Taylor Twellman gets it exactly so: the Vancouver midfield is absolutely swallowing the Miami duo of Busquets and De Paul.

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Absolutely overrunning Miami’s midfield.

60th mimute GOAL!!!

Ali Ahmed has only been growing in strength today. And now he has, somehow, just his first goal of the year.

The winger was left wide open out left and Brian White plays the perfect hold-up ball from the middle over to Ahmed who is acres of space. White drew two defenders.

Ahmed hammers his shot, Rios Novo gets his hand on it, but it ticks off the inside of the post to the keeper’s right, Ahmed’s left, and it’s 1-1.

58th minute

Another big effort from Vancouver, as they get the ball into the top of the area and it’s Muller on the ball…but his shot is blocked.

Lots of movement from Vancouver, lots of one-twos, Miami is letting the Caps play with a lot of freedom.

56th minute

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for the first time in ages Miami builds a real attack. Takaoka punches the ball away and it’s Messi under the ball but the superstar puts his header just wide.

Nervous stuff for the Whitecaps.

Miami makes their first sub: Rodriguez, who was on a yellow and had spent a lot of time yelling at the ref, is off. Telasco Segovia is on.

52nd minute

Ali Ahmed is starting to grow in influence. He gets the ball out on the left, where he loves it and makes a quick dribble around Falcon. He can’t recollect the ball and Falcon angles him into touch, but the statement is made: Falcon is looking *very* vulnerable.

50th minute

Vancouver is already back dominating the ball again. They attack right through the heart of the Miami midfield, Ali Ahmed is brought down by the pairing of Sergio Busquets, playing the last game of his career, and super pest Diego Falcon, drawing a free kick and a yellow for Falcon.

Seb Berhalter is deadly from spots like this and with David Beckham the old master of the free kick looking on…skies the ball over the bar.

Disappointing.

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Second-half kickoff

Whitecaps are attacking towards the 2,000 or so supporters who travelled all the way from the Lower Mainland. How do we know? We can hear them booing an apparent missed call: Whitecaps should have had a corner, but Miami is given a goal kick.

No changes at the half for either team.

Whitecaps, by the way, came back to win the Miami second leg in the Champions Cup semi in April.

HALFTIME

After all that possession, the Whitecaps much be frustrated to not have a goal here. But we’re at halftime with Miami leading 1-0.

“Small margins are going to decide the game,” Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen tells Apple TV before heading to the sheds for his halftime talk.

45th minute Yellow card

Edier Ocampo moves out of his way to knock the on-rushing Rodriguez, catches the young Argentine’s jaw with his shoulder and is shown a caution for his exploits.

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41st minute

Vancouver’s ability to manage the play the last 10 minutes or so is really remarkable. Miami is really struggling to slow them down. Now there’s a brilliant ball whipped in from the right by Edier Ocampo, Muller gets his head to it and Rios Novi is perfectly positions again.

Muller slaps the turf in frustration.

Miami counter attacks, Allende almost gets around the back again, but Priso calmly kicks the ball out from under his feet.

37th minute

Caps are really piling the pressure on in terms of pressure.

They’ve won a couple free kicks now by forcing Miami on to the back foot, drawing loose fouls in tricky spots.

The ball pings around after the latest effort. The ball rolls out to the left, Ocampo chips it back in, Muller puts a lovely touch over to Sabbi who is a yard out, but Rios Novo covers it well.

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33rd minute

Ahmed finally manages to break loose from Fray running down the left and draws a foul.

Seb Berhalter hits a nice ball in, Brian White gets his head on it for a flick on, but Rios Novo collects it easily.

26th minute

Right after the Messi free kick Emmanuel Sabbi goes roaring down the right wing, gets into the area and looks to be tripped, but referee Drew Fisher waves the play on.

While play goes on there’s a review by VAR Carol-Anne Chenard but it’s clear on replay that’s it’s Sabbi who steps on Balthazar Rogriguez’s foot and not vice versa.

25th minute

Miami win a free kick about 25 yards out. Messi steps up, the crowd roar in anticipation, and he hits it poorly. Yohei Takaoka has no issues collecting it squarely in his chest.

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19th minute

We haven’t seen much from Ali Ahmed so far, not a great sign for Vancouver. He’s being marked closely by Ian Fray. But here he does get some space, does try to open up, but is stymied. Miami looks to move the ball up field but it’s Andres Cubas who forces a turnover and quickly whips a cross in from the left byline. Brian White does get his head on the ball, but the header loops high over the crossbar.

17th minute Yellow card

This game is getting very, very chippy. Brian White is called for a foul just outside the Miami area, then ends up tangled up with Maximiliano Falcon and flips the defender.

Falcon is being a real nuisance.

15th minute

Caps are doing well with their possession but still struggling to make a final connection inside the 18-yard-box.

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But for a team that is down a goal, they’re doing well. They need to keep setting the pace.

13th minute Yellow Card

The ugliest foul in an ugly sequence of should-have-been fouls leads to yellow for Miami’s Baltasar Rodríguez.

This game is getting chippy. Tristan Blackmon had made a high challenge right before that was surprisingly not whistled for a foul.

9th minute GOAL!!

A brilliant play of the ball by Lionel Messi, who else, in midfield springs Allende. The man’s been everywhere!

Allende sprints down the right, is angled away by Ralph Priso but Allende’s cross is deflected right into the Vancouver net by Edier Ocampo.

Incredible start for Miami. Big test for Vancouver.

6th minute

First moments of danger for the Caps, as they work the ball down the right. Edier Ocampo gets the ball to Thomas Müller’s foot but the Raumdeuter’s shot is blocked. Then the ball get whipped back in by Seb Berhalter and it’s punched away by Inter keeper Rocco Rios Novo but then there’s a handball by Allende about 25 yards out. Free kick to the Caps but nothing comes of it.

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3rd minute

And we have our first shot after a fair bit of back and forth pressure in midfield.

Tadeo Allende makes an outside cut and hammers a shot over the goal from out on the right.

Kickoff

Pink vs. white. In the bring sun. Should Caps have gone with all-blue just for contrast’s sake?

PREGAME

• There are more than 2,000 Whitecaps fans in Fort Lauderdale for this one. Chase Stadium holds about 21,500. So add that with the 20,000-plus who will be at B.C. Place, there are more Whitecaps fans watching this game in a stadium than Miami fans.
• What stands out to me in all the pre-game stats is the Caps’ defensive record: 17 fewer goals conceded. That does mean something even against the high powered Miamians.
• No real surprises in the Whitecaps’ lineup: Tristan Blackmon is back in at centre back, partnering Ralph Priso. Mathias Laborda starts on the left.

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