Lionel Messi taps home the goal to give Inter Miami a 4-0 lead in the Leagues Cup. Lionel Messi maintained his record of scoring in every game for Inter Miami CF as his new team cruised into the Leagues Cup semifinals with a 4-0 win over Charlotte FC in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday.
Messi’s introduction to life in the U.S. has been nothing short of electric, scoring late winners and equalizers, bagging ridiculous free-kicks, bringing teammates into the attack, and dazzling crowds to remind everyone how much fun it can be to be the greatest player of all-time.
Christian Lattanzio and Charlotte became the latest MLS side to fall victim to Messi and Inter Miami’s brilliance, as a total team effort put the Eastern Conference’s last-placed team into the Leagues Cup semifinals. They will match up against the Philadelphia Union, who downed Queretaro 2-1 on a 101st minute winner.
Messi was less influential than usual in the opening half, but all that did was create openings for his teammates. Josef Martinez got the game started with a penalty in the 12th minute, and Robert Taylor continued his own hot streak to put Inter Miami up 2-0 before halftime. In the second half, Charlotte FC failed to make the necessary changes and an own-goal put Miami 3-0 up, before Messi finished it off three minutes from full-time.