MEXICO.- The painful removal of Inter Miami of Lionel Messi in the Concacaf Champions Cup and the hasty classification of Mexico America The second leg matches of the round of 16 marked the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
During his visit to the Inter Miami stadium in Fort Lauderdale, the Nashville SC They started the tie 1-1 and sealed their place in the quarterfinals by the criterion of the double value of the away goal.
In the first leg last week, they had finished 0-0 in Nashville.
The “herons” came out to play the game under a latent threat of being eliminated that seemed to dissipate in the 7th minute, when Messi made it 1-0 after an assist from the Spaniard. Sergio Reguilon.
The 900th goal in Messi’s career became an irrelevant anecdote at 74′, when the Argentine Christian Espinoza He scored 1-1 with a lightning volley.
The tie of the “Boys in Gold” was reflected in the face of Javier “El Jefecito” MascheranoArgentine coach of Inter Miami, who had expressed his firm intention to win the Concacaf tournament.
“It’s a very sad night, we feel a lot of disappointment, we were excited about advancing in the competition… We were left out, it’s a shame and I’m the one most responsible,” commented Mascherano.
“Except for the first twenty minutes, we felt uncomfortable in the game,” acknowledged the former player.
“The game was clearly in danger against a great rival, unfortunately we conceded a goal in a very unfortunate play,” he added.
In a desperate attempt to save the tie, Mascherano sent Luis Suárez onto the field in the 78th minute, but the veteran Uruguayan forward suffered, along with Messi, his third consecutive elimination in the Concachampions.
America was at risk
The Águilas achieved a difficult qualification on Wednesday, conceding a 1-1 draw against the Philadelphia Union at the Ciudad de los Deportes stadium, in Mexico City.
The Mexican giant took the series with a cumulative score of 2-1, after winning 1-0 in the first leg last week in Philadelphia.
“The pass was the main objective, but there is really little to celebrate,” admitted the Brazilian André Jardinecoach of America. “The closing was tense and nervous, something we didn’t want.”
América found the goal in the 6th minute on a free kick from the left side: the Brazilian Raphael Veiga sent a cross into the area and his compatriot Rodrigo Dourado He defined with an accurate header.
The Venezuelan Jesus Goodfrom a penalty, made it 1-1 for the Philadelphia Union in the 49th minute.
In the 150th game under Jardine’s command, the Eagles played the last 20 minutes with a line of three central defenders to protect themselves from the Philadelphia Union’s offensive threats.
In the quarterfinals, América will face Nashville SC.
Toluca shines and comes back
He Toluca Mexican fulfilled his obligation to beat the San Diego FC American and did so with a 4-0 home win at the Nemesio Diez stadium.
“We were not forceful because, if we had been, the score would end 10-0, easy,” he said. Antonio “The Turk” MohamedArgentine coach of Toluca.
“After winning the first game, they gave the feeling that the series was over. We, who are very respectful, knew that we would define it at home, because here we are very strong, and today it was shown that there is a lot of difference between one team and another,” he added.
After losing 3-2 on the road in the first leg, the Red Devils won the tie with an aggregate score of 6-3 against one of the debutants in the Concachampions.
Jesus Angulo with a double (43′ and 59′), the Portuguese Paulinho (56′) and Jesus Gallardo (90+2′) they scored the goals for the Toluca classification.
At One Spokane Stadium, the Seattle Sounders came from behind to beat the Vancouver Whitecaps Canadian and advance to the next phase with a cumulative score of 5-1.
Jeevan Badwal (24′) put the Whitecaps ahead; the Sounders came back thanks to Danny Musovski (79′) and Paul Rothrock (83′).
