Messi, Inter Miami return from the dead to down FC Cincinnati in US Open Cup semifinal

Messi might actually be unstoppable

The best team in MLS, who enter the game unbeaten at home, take a 2-0 lead. For anyone else, that’s a lost cause. Wrap it up, go home, save your legs for another day.

For Lionel Messi and Inter Miami? It’s all just stage dressing for a stunning drama.

Messi produced two surgically precise assists, one of which came eight minutes into second-half stoppage time, to spark a wild comeback that saw the Herons advance to the U.S. Open Cup final on penalties following a 3-3 draw with FC Cincinnati.

Miami will host the Houston Dynamo, 3-1 winners over Real Salt Lake in the night’s other semifinal, in September 27’s final.

If anyone ever manages to actually beat this post-Messi Miami side, luck will have to be on their side. It was certainly in Cincinnati’s favor as they took an 18th minute lead on an absolutely bizarre sequence.

A misplaced Luciano Acosta pass pinballed off of multiple Miami players, looping up for Aaron Boupendza to flick it on. Cincinnati’s Argentine No. 10, with some help from an yet another extremely generous bounce off of Kamal Miller, saw his shot kiss the post and trickle just over the line.

Boupendza thought he’d doubled the lead just two minutes later after chasing down Ian Murphy’s long ball and lobbing Drake Callender, but the goal was chalked off as the Gabon striker was two strides offside.

For Miami, it was the team’s first deficit with Messi as a starter, and Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s halftime changes were undone by a second goal seven minutes into the second half. This time, it was clinical counter-attacking work, with Brandon Vazquez finishing off a raid forward with a powerful low strike.

Messi was getting very little in terms of options or time, but as he has shown the entire world for nearly two decades, all it takes is one touch.

Miami won a set piece out on the left, and despite Cincinnati having a marked size advantage inside the box, the Argentina legend’s driven delivery couldn’t have been more perfect for Leo Campana.

Cincinnati seemed to have an ideal response, but as substitute Yuya Kubo wheeled away celebrating a point-blank finish following a set piece, the bad news arrived: Kubo had handled the ball before finishing, and Miami stayed afloat.

Martino was at this point throwing the kitchen sink at Cincinnati. Josef Martínez and U-22 Initiative playmaker Facundo Farías came in alongside Messi, and Messi’s new bestie Robert Taylor was deployed as an unorthodox right back.

On this night, though, it just wasn’t happening. In fact, Cincinnati goalkeeper Alec Kann didn’t even have much work outside of headers from Messi set piece deliveries.

And yet, even if you scrolled immediately to this line of the article, you already know what’s coming.

With just seconds left in the eight minutes of stoppage time given by referee Joe Dickerson, Messi found himself left of center. For any other player, it’s a prayer of a ball to the back post. For Messi, it was as easy as handing the ball to Campana from a foot away, and the No. 9 once again just had to guide the ball past Kann.

TQL Stadium was stunned, and Cincinnati was in trouble. Head coach Pat Noonan had pulled Acosta, Vazquez, and Boupendza while protecting what seemed like a secure lead.

Meanwhile Miami still had Messi, but didn’t even need him to complete a stunning takeover of the game. Homegrown midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi delivered the goods instead, playing a pass Messi would be proud of to set Martínez up for an ice-cold finish.

Santiago Arias cracked a shot off the bar for Cincinnati, but the luck the home side had early on had by now vanished.

The script said it was all over for Cincinnati without their star attackers, but Yuya Kubo — a former Designated Player attacker who has become over the last two seasons a Swiss Army Knife off the bench — somehow squeezed an equalizer home in the 114th minute.

Both sides exchanged four flawless rounds of penalty kicks, including a casual take from Messi. However, in round five Cincinnati blinked, with Nick Hagglund’s poor spot kick saved by Callender.

Cremaschi did the honors once again, driving his effort home to put Miami in a second final since the club went out and signed the best player to ever kick a ball.

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