Lionel Messi is heading to Music City after scoring a stunning strike from 35 yards to lead Inter Miami to an emphatic 4-1 victory over Philadelphia Union to reach their first-ever League Cup final.
They will face Nashville, who beat Monterrey 2-0 in the other semifinal in Saturday’s final showdown.
The stunning goal was Messi’s ninth goal in six games since joining the MLS side.
Miami made a whirlwind start with Messi’s strike partner, Josef Martinez, scoring in just the third minute, latching onto a long ball and rifling home into the far corner.
It was a dream start for Miami in one of the toughest games on paper the team has faced since Messi arrived a month ago against last season’s MLS runner-up.
This time, there was no David Beckham, a Miami co-owner, watching on in the stands in Philadelphia, nor was his wife Antonela in attendance for the road game.
Messi and the Miami team were booed as they made their way out onto the field for Tuesday night’s game. But it made no difference as the World Cup winner showed exactly why there was so much excitement around his presence just 20 minutes into the game.
Picking up a ball that was flicked into his path by Martinez, Messi strolled forward and recognising he was about to be closed down, made the most of the space around him by unleashing a sumptuous left-footed strike from 35 yards.
The ball stayed low and swerved out of the reach of Union goalkeeper, Andre Blake, nestling into the corner and leaving what had been a rowdy crowd at Subaru Park stunned into silence.
There was more to come before the halftime interval as Jordi Alba rounded off a fabulous sweeping move for his first goal in Miami colours, running through one-on-one and beating Blake with the composure of a striker like Messi or Martinez.
