FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi got a milestone. And Nashville got a tie that felt like a win.
Messi got the 900th goal of his career, but Cristian Espinoza scored in the 74th minute to give Nashville a good-enough-to-advance 1-1 tie with Inter Miami in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 matchup on Wednesday night.
The teams tied both legs of the matchup, after a 0-0 game in Nashville started the series last week. Away goals were the tiebreaker, meaning Nashville will move onto the tournament’s quarterfinals — denying the reigning MLS champions’ bid for another trophy.
“Our goal and our club ambition is to compete against the best of North America, Central American and the Caribbean,” Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan said. “That’s what this tournament does, brings the best of the best together. … If you want to become an elite team and an elite club, you need to be able to perform in a prestigious tournament like this.”
Espinoza scored on a wild play where he was in the right place at the right time.
Nashville’s Alex Muyl took a shot that was blocked by a sliding Inter Miami defender Gonzalo Luján. The ball ricocheted off Luján and into the air, the topspin carrying it toward the goal mouth and Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair had to scramble to his feet in order to punch it away.
He didn’t punch it far. St. Clair’s momentum carried him into the net, where three other Inter Miami defenders also wound up, and Espinoza had an easy goal to pull the match even.
“The match was clearly in jeopardy because it was a game against a great opponent,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “Unfortunately, we conceded a goal following an unlucky play. A lot of things happen in a game and, well, we’re out.”
It was Inter Miami’s first match at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale since last season’s MLS Cup final — and, if all stays according to plan, it may be the club’s last match in the facility as well. Messi’s team doesn’t play a home MLS match until April 4, when it is scheduled to open its new stadium near Miami International Airport.
And if this was the Fort Lauderdale finale, it wasn’t a loss — but probably felt like one.
Messi, the Argentinian superstar, scored his 900th career goal in the seventh minute for a 1-0 lead. It was quintessential Messi, with him making something out of very little.
He was well-defended when he took the pass with his back to the net, about 12 yards from the goal mouth and with other players creating more traffic in front of the goal.
No problem.
He turned and his left foot sent the ball skittering across the wet grass on a rainy night in South Florida, actually getting it through the legs of Nashville defender Jeisson Palacios and past the left arm of diving goalkeeper Brian Schwake for the opening goal.
But Inter Miami didn’t score again, and eventually Nashville broke through.
Nashville had a great chance to tie it in the 67th minute, when Hany Mukhtar — despite Inter Miami arguing that he was offside, and replays suggesting that the Herons had a case — got free in the middle of the field.
Mukhtar came in alone on St. Clair, but wound up missing the net. A few minutes later, that was all forgotten. Messi had one good chance in the four minutes of stoppage time, but the shot was blocked away and soon afterward Nashville was moving on.
“I think we have a group right now in that locker room that has a lot of belief in what we’re doing … a relentless spirit,” Callaghan said. “Just really proud of the entire group.”
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