Ex-Barcelona Trio, Messi, Busquets, Alba Enliven Inter Miami

• As Club reaches Cup final with goal surge hitting new height
• Argentine World Cup star leads Golden Boot race

BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – Courtesy of their record seven times Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi, Major League Soccer (MLS) side, Inter Miami have advanced to the 2023 Leagues Cup final after pummeling their opponents, Philadelphia Union 4-1 on Tuesday evening.

In the thrilling encounter, Messi scored his ninth goal of the tournament while former Barcelona teammate, Jordi Alba scored his first for the Herons who will be playing in their first-ever Cup Final on Sunday evening against the winner of Nashville SC vs Monterrey.

Across their six Leagues Cup matches, Inter Miami have scored a total of 21 goals, and in the four where the former FC Barcelona trio of Messi, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets have started, they have scored four goals in each match.

Prior to the ex-Barca trio’s arrival, Miami had scored just 22 goals in as many games in MLS play, with Messi now tied for third all-time on the club’s goalscoring charts, trailing only Gonzalo Higuain and Leonardo Campana.

The arrival of these ex-European giants in Miami has taken the tournament by storm to a new level with Messi and Alba scoring in the same game for the first time since June 13, 2020, when they both featured for Barcelona.

Tuesday night had Messi scoring with a stunning long-range finish to put Inter Miami up 2-0 over the Philadelphia Union in the 20th minute. From over 30 yards out, the Argentine picked out a corner against three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake to impressively bury his shot.

With the goal, Messi further extended his lead in the race for the Golden Boot while Inter Miami also qualify for a berth in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, a tournament it has never played in since becoming a team in 2020.

In a post-match interview, Messi’s teammate, Josef Alexander Martínez, who scored the first goal, told Apple TV; “We have to be happy and enjoy the moment” for reaching the Leagues Cup final.

Football pundits had predicted a difficult challenge for Miami given that Philly (Philadelphia Union) only lost just one match in their last 41 contests on home turf at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, before Tuesday’s match. But that was before the arrival of Messi and his new-look MLS team. – With Agency reports