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Lionel Messi was in fine form as Inter Miami staged an impressive comeback to beat Cincinnati in the semifinals of the US Open Cup on Wednesday (August 23).
Cincinnati secured a 2-0 lead by the 53rd minute before a Leonardo Campana header halved the deficit for his team 15 minutes later. Messi provided a sublime cross from a free-kick which found the Ecuadorian striker's head with unerring accuracy.
But with the score at 2-1 and the game seven minutes into stoppage time, Inter Miami needed something special to take the game into extra time. Messi stepped up to the plate, playing a deliciously lobbed pass straight onto Campana's head, who finished it without fuss.
Both teams scored in extra time to take the game to penalties, where Vice City prevailed. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner scored his spot-kick as his team won 5-4 on penalties, with Nick Hagglund's miss from the spot proving to be the difference.
After the game, manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino lauded Messi and said, via MLS.com:
"He has a response for every moment, no matter the circumstances. And today he showed it more as a conductor and not a finisher, and you saw that with the pass late in the match [to Campana]. He makes difficult plays look easy. It was an assist of a súper crack."
The term 'crack' is often used as slang in South American football to praise a player for doing something extraordinary. The former Barcelona superstar has been doing that and more since his arrival in the USA this summer.
The 36-year-old now has 10 goals and three assists in eight games across competitions for his new club.
Lionel Messi's Inter Miami to host Houston Dynamo in US Open Cup final
Houston Dynamo's 3-1 (A.E.T) win against Real Salt Lake earlier in the day earned them a spot in the US Open Cup final against Inter Miami.
This is Houston's second appearance in the competition's final after they won the 2018 edition, beating Philadelphia Union 3-0 in the final. Meanwhile, this is Inter Miami's first US Open Cup final in their five-and-a-half-year-long club history.
The final will be played on September 27 at the DRV PNK Stadium in Miami. This could be Lionel Messi's chance to lead his team to another trophy this season after starring in their Leagues Cup triumph earlier this month.
The former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) playmaker registered 10 goals and an assist in seven games as his team won the trophy for the first time in their history. It remains their only major silverware to date.
