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Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham congratulated Lionel Messi and the team on reaching the US Open Cup final. They defeated FC Cincinnati in a nerve-wracking semifinal, which was decided on a penalty shootout.
The club have now made their second final in a week. They also won the Leagues Cup, defeating Nashville in the final on Saturday, August 19.
Taking to Instagram, Beckham posted a series of photos of Inter Miami players celebrating the win with the caption:
"Another great night in pink. A great performance from the team to reach another final. @InterMiamicf very proud."
Here's the post:
Miami will face Houston Dynamo in the US Open Cup final next month. Before that, they will resume their Major League Soccer (MLS) campaign with an away encounter against NY Red Bulls on Saturday, August 26.
Beckham also addressed allegations from a section of fans that Inter Miami's matches are fixed. Speaking on the topic after his side's Leagues Cup final win, he said (via Mirror):
“Every time Leo [Messi] scores one of these goals, every time Busi [Sergio Busquets] makes one of these passes, every time Jordi [Alba] makes one of these runs, people say ‘Is it a fix?’"
“It’s the biggest compliment that anyone can give these players because it is like a movie," he added. "You watch these players play and it’s emotional because everything about their play is beautiful. Everything about their mannerisms is beautiful and everything about them as individuals, off the pitch, is beautiful.”
Lionel Messi leads from the front yet again as Inter Miami make US Open Cup final
Lionel Messi was in his element in the US Open Cup semifinal against Cincinnati, which finished 3-3 after extra time. Inter Miami then won 5-4 on penalties to book a spot in the summit clash.
It wasn't all easy for the Argentine's new club as they went 2-0 down by the 53rd minute through goals from Luciano Acosta and Brandon Vazquez. Messi took matters into his own hands, providing a pin-point cross to Leonardo Campana to half the deficit in the 68th minute.
It took until the last minute of the injury time for Miami to find the equalizer. The 2022 World Cup winner turned provider again, sending another accurate cross for Campana to head in from close range and send the match into extra time.
Josef Martínez helped Miami take the lead for the first time in the match, scoring just three minutes into extra time. But Cincinnati equalized through Yuya Kubo as the match entered a shootout.
All the players except Cininnati's Nick Hagglund converted their spot-kicks as Inter Miami won 5-4.
