The Inter Miami has experienced a true setback in American soccer. The reason? In a match that they had under control in the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup against Columbus Crew, they ended up losing it surprisingly, being eliminated from a competition in which they were the defending champions.
Gerardo 'Tata' Martino and his team saw a game they had in their control slip away, thanks to goals from Paraguayans Matías Rojas in the 10th minute and Diego Gómez in the 62nd, ending with an unexpected 2-3 defeat. 'La Pandilla's' offense, in a burst of good football, managed to turn the score around in just 13 minutes.
How did Columbus orchestrate the comeback against the 'Garzas'?
The Columbus' swift reaction began in the 67th minute with a goal from Christian Ramírez. The American, who took advantage of an excellent cross into the box from 'Cucho' Hernández to head in the 1-2 goal, started giving some hope to the Ohio team regarding a comeback.
After that, with the excitement of the 1-2 goal still palpable, Columbus managed to equalize, triggering genuine euphoria among the spectators. In the 69th minute, Diego Rossi didn't waste a pass from the right wing into the box, courtesy of 'Cucho', and arriving from the backline after easily getting past his marker, he shot with precision and finesse with his right foot to make it 2-2 in a 'clash' where emotions flared up again after that goal.
Finally, the decisive goal again starred Rossi, this time in the 80th minute. After receiving a filtered pass into the box from Farsi, he didn't hesitate to capitalize on the defensive lapse of the 'Garzas', shooting with precision towards the far post of the goalkeeper. This goal turned the game around in a spectacular moment where Columbus impressively reversed the score, leaving Inter Miami in a difficult situation with no chance of turning the game around.
Busquets remembers Leo Messi after Inter Miami's defeat
After the match, Sergio Busquets didn't hesitate to comment in the mixed zone about the significance of Leo Messi's absence in these types of matches, where his football influence is crucial. "We know the differences Leo makes, hopefully we could have had him with us. But football has this: injuries, setbacks. For us, it is very important, and it was a shame not to be able to enjoy him because surely things would have been different, and we would have had many more possibilities", he expressed.
Additionally, the former FC Barcelona player showed his discontent with the result and expressed his desire to see the Rosario star back on the field as soon as possible. "We have no choice but to prioritize the league. We are in a very good position, hopefully we can maintain this pace until the end and be first and then focus on the 'playoff' in the best way. Hopefully we can all be complete, in this case Leo, as soon as possible. We don't know when he will be back, but hopefully he recovers as soon as possible because surely with everyone we are a very difficult team to beat", he concluded.