Messi, Mascherano watch from stands as Inter Miami beats Tigres, 2-1, in Leagues Cup
Published in Soccer
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Inter Miami’s biggest star, injured captain Lionel Messi, watched in street clothes from the stands, and its coach, Javier Mascherano, was ejected at halftime in a wild 2-1 Leagues Cup quarterfinal victory against Mexican power Tigres.
Both of Miami’s goals were scored on penalty kicks by Luis Suarez after handballs in the box by Tigres midfielder Javier Aquino.
Mascherano was shown a red card for arguing with officials as the teams headed to the tunnel after the first-half whistle with Miami holding a 1-0 lead. Referee Mario Escobar had added four minutes of extra time, but let the clock run to seven minutes as Miami players and coaches screamed and pointed to the scoreboard.
Mascherano watched the rest of the game from the front row of the stands, but he was not allowed to yell or offer instructions, per Leagues Cup rules. He is suspended for the Leagues Cup semifinal next week. Assistant coach Leandro Stillitano coached the second half.
When the game ended, celebratory pink smoke filled the air as Mascherano fist bumped fans in the stands and was escorted by security guards up the stadium aisle.
Messi smiled from a suite earlier in the game as Suarez, his close friend, blasted a penalty kick into the bottom right corner to give Inter Miami a lead in the 23rd minute. The PK was awarded after a Jordi Alba cross bounced off Aquino’s hand.
Suarez looked toward the suites, pumped his right fist and celebrated with teammates after he converted the PK. The 38-year-old Uruguayan has been breaking out of a scoring slump in recent games and said on Tuesday that he did not let goal droughts discourage him because he was still helping the team with 15 assists.
On this night, he found the back of the net twice. The second came in the 89th minute, igniting the home crowd.
Suarez also has been lauded for his leadership skills, which are especially important when Messi is not on the field.
He acted as peacemaker after the first-half whistle, breaking up a heated argument between his Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul and his Uruguayan compatriot Fernando Gorriaran. The two players were jawing at each other when Suarez stepped in, put his arm around Gorriaran and led him into the tunnel.
Messi returned from a hamstring injury last weekend to provide late-game heroics in a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy, suffered a setback and did not train with the team the past few days. He was seen massaging his leg during the Galaxy game and he bolted from the field immediately after the final whistle.
Wednesday’s match was a showdown of high-profile MLS and Liga MX clubs, both with heavy Argentine influences. Both coaches, Miami’s Mascherano and Tigres’ Guido Pizarro, are from Argentina. Nine players on Miami’s roster are from Argentina, and four from Tigres.
Inter beat Atlas and Pumas and earned two points against Necaxa with a penalty shootout win in the group phase to advance to the quarterfinals. Tigres beat the Houston Dynamo and San Diego FC and lost to LAFC, 2-1.
Tigres got stronger this summer with the addition of Argentine attacker Angel Correa, who was a teammate of Messi’s and De Paul’s on the World Cup championship team. Correa and De Paul began this season as teammates with Atletico Madrid and both made summer moves to North America.
Correa scored the lone goal for Tigres in the 67th minute, getting past Miami defender Gonzalo Lujan.
Most of the fans at Chase Stadium were dressed in pink, but there was a spirited smattering and yellow and blue supporting the visiting team. Tigres fans, many of whom traveled from Monterrey, cheered in the parking lot when their team bus pulled up. The crowd included Mexican singer Cristian Castro and Mexican national team coach Javier Aguirre.
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