Injured Lionel Messi watched from the stands as the Houston Dynamo overcame Inter Miami 2-1 to claim the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday.
Without Messi and his former teammate Jordi Alba from Barcelona, Miami failed to match the ambition of Houston and had little cause for complaint about the result.
After the team’s Leagues Cup victory last month, Miami co-owner David Beckham had anticipated for another night of celebration. He watched the game with his former Real Madrid teammate Zinedine Zidane.
Did they miss Messi?
Miami, though, lacked focus and innovation as they were outplayed by Ben Olsen’s talented Houston squad.
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Messi’s issue has been spoken in vague terms, with mentions of “muscle fatigue” and the coach Gerardo Martino mentioning “scars” from an earlier injury.
After the game, Martino remarked, “It was not wise for him to play; we couldn’t even consider playing him for a few minutes because we would be taking risks.
The former Barcelona and Argentina coach predicted that Messi would make an appearance in one of Miami’s final five MLS regular-season games.
He’ll undoubtedly play before the league season is complete. We’ll assess the situation after each game to see how things are going and if the medical staff can give him the all-clear to play without taking any unnecessary risks,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Martino claimed that Miami’s season was now beginning to catch up with them.
The truth is, I thought it was a very worn-out team, he added. The truth is that so many games were going to have an impact on us.
Houston took control early on, moving the ball with assurance and purpose while Miami struggled to gain traction without Messi to worry about.
Nelson Quinones drove towards the far post, forcing Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender into a double save. Callender did well to get his legs to the follow-up shot from Corey Bair.
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What happened between Inter Miami and Houston
However, Houston took the lead in the 24th minute thanks to a flawless counterattack that saw Brazilian Artur feed the overlapping Griffin Dorsey, who fired home at the near post.
Houston was completely in control, distributing the ball with such quickness that Miami was left chasing shadows, and it didn’t take them long to double their lead.
DeAndre Yedlin of Miami’s right defender made a last-ditch lunge in an attempt to stop Colombian winger Quinones from cutting into the area from the left side. Amine Bassi, a French attacker, scored with ease from the penalty spot to make it 2-0.
At halftime, Martino made two substitutions, putting on midfielder Dixon Arroyo from Ecuador and striker Josef Martinez from Venezuela.
Martinez missed a fantastic opportunity to put Miami back in the game in the 56th minute, but Benjamin Cremaschi forced Dynamo goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell into a low save.
But while Inter continued to press for a goal, Houston made a breakaway and appeared to have won the game when Quinones scored after being set up by Bassi, but the goal was disallowed for offside following a VAR review.
After seizing an Argentinean Facundo Farias pass, Martinez gave Miami some late hope with a left-foot strike in stoppage time.
At halftime, Martino made two substitutions, putting on midfielder Dixon Arroyo from Ecuador and striker Josef Martinez from Venezuela.
Martinez missed a fantastic opportunity to put Miami back in the game in the 56th minute, but Benjamin Cremaschi forced Dynamo goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell into a low save.
But while Inter continued to press for a goal, Houston made a breakaway and appeared to have won the game when Quinones scored after being set up by Bassi, but the goal was disallowed for offside following a VAR review.
After seizing an Argentinean Facundo Farias pass, Martinez gave Miami some late hope with a left-foot strike in stoppage time.