Inter Miami defeated Nashville 3-1 (5-3 aggregate) on Wednesday, thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, to advance to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final eight.
Messi assisted Suarez for the opening goal in the eighth minute, and the Argentine scored himself in the 23rd minute.
However, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was replaced in the 50th minute, and Robert Taylor’s header in the 63rd minute sealed the victory.
Inter Miami coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino stated that Messi’s departure, despite the fact that he did not look to limp or be in pain, was due to hamstring issues.
“He is experiencing an overload in his right hamstring. So we did not want to take any chances. We tried to see if he could hold on for a little longer, but it was upsetting him, so we decided to take him out of the game,” he explained.
“I imagine that for Saturday’s game (at D.C. United) he is not going to be available,” Martino stated.
Inter Miami, competing in the competition for the first time, will meet the winner of Thursday’s second leg between Mexico’s Monterrey and MLS’s FC Cincinnati in the quarterfinals.
The Liga MX team is at home and leads 1-0 after the first leg.
In the first leg in Tennessee, Nashville led by two goals until Messi and Suarez inspired a 2-2 tie.
And it was the former Barcelona combo who made the difference again, as Miami took command from the start.
Messi got an early opportunity when he was pulled down on the edge of the box, resulting in a free-kick from a central position, but his attempt hit the wall.
Minutes later, Messi broke open the Nashville defense with a brilliant ball to Suarez, whose precise finish with the outside of his right foot mirrored the perfection of the assist.
– Messi on target – While the seasoned foursome of Barcelona players in the Miami team, including Spaniards Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, grabs the focus, teenage midfielder Diego Gomez has grown increasingly influential.
The second goal came from the Paraguayan’s strong running in the 23rd minute, when Gomez raced fiercely into the area and then expertly slipped inside to Messi, who buried the ball into the corner for the first time.
Messi scored his fifth goal in five games across all competitions this season. Suárez has four goals in six games.
Nashville had made few chances, but Daniel Lovitz’s left-footed volley against the post served as a wake-up call to Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender.
Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino substituted Messi for Taylor five minutes after the break, with no evident signs of an injury on the Argentine.
The departure of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner boosted Nashville, who began to attack with real intensity, and Callender had to make a fantastic save at point blank range to deny Lukas MacNaughton.
But any thought of a Nashville comeback was wiped out when Suarez turned provider with a wonderful chip into the box to Taylor, who curled home his header to make it 3-0.
Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar had an attempt disallowed for offside before English attacker Sam Surridge added a late consolation.
“We got the goals that we needed at the start,” Taylor remarked.
“We anticipated they’d try their hardest to score in the second half, and they did put on more pressure.
Luckily, we got the third, and Drake made some incredible saves. It’s a tremendous feeling to be going through and performing like this; every game (in the Cup) is do or die, so it’s a fantastic feeling,” remarked the Finnish international.
Costa Rica’s Herediano advanced to the last eight after a 1-1 draw against Surinam’s Robinhood, resulting in a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
Wednesday’s later game is an all-Mexico showdown, with Club America protecting a 3-0 first-leg lead at home against Chivas Guadalajara.