Inter Miami are through to the last eight of the Leagues Cup, and Lionel Messi is the main reason why. Messi scored two more goals for his new club in a crazy 4-4 draw with FC Dallas and converted a penalty kick in the shootout with the visitors advancing, 5-3 from the spot. The tense battle ended 4-4 in regulation as Inter rallied twice to draw level.
The match saw Messi score just six minutes in for the 1-0 lead, but his side would fall behind 3-1 and then 4-2, needing a late own goal and another free kick golazo from the World Cup winner to force penalty kicks. Messi's second goal saw him go upper 90 from the corner of the box with an incredibly placed ball.
U.S. men's national team talent Paxton Pomykal skied his penalty to give Tata Martino's team the advantage, and they would not disappoint, advancing to the quarterfinals by converting all five of their penalties. FC Dallas were the first team to push Inter Miami since Messi signed for the club but Tata Martino's adjustments again proved to be important during the match.
Making his first start for the club, Diego Gomez struggled in midfield with FC Dallas picking the ball off of him and Sergio Busquets with ease but the introduction of 18-year-old homegrown Benjamin Cremaschi changed the game. Scoring a goal on his first touch of the game and then sealing the penalty shootout with the fifth kick, Cremaschi's performance goes to show that while Messi, Busquets, and Jordi Alba will be critical to Miami's performances this season, it's the young players who will determine how far this team can go in supporting roles.
Defensive improvement will be needed as Kamal Miller and Drake Callender had nights to forget but there's plenty of margin for error when a team can score four goals in a match. With more talented players like Facundo Farias and Tomas Aviles on the way, this squad is only getting better as next up in Leagues Cup they'll face the winner of Charlotte FC vs. the Houston Dynamo. Due to hosting duties being based on a team's performance in the season prior, Inter Miami will be taking the next match to DRV PNK Stadium next weekend.