Tag: Messi

  • Messi and Miami stunned by LAFC in CONCACAF Champions Cup

    Messi and Miami stunned by LAFC in CONCACAF Champions Cup

    Los Angeles FC sent Lionel Messi and Inter Miami spinning to their first defeat of the season on Wednesday, scoring an upset 1-0 victory in their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final first-leg clash.

    A 57th-minute strike from Los Angeles-born El Salvador international Nathan Ordaz handed LAFC a precious advantage heading into next Wednesday’s return leg in Florida.

    “I think we saw a complete performance,” said LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo, whose only complaint was that his team had not managed to win by a more convincing margin.

    “If we’re honest with ourselves we need to be a little sharper in front of goal. If we get the same types of chances next week in Miami we need to be a little more ruthless.”

    Miami coach Javier Mascherano had few complaints about his team’s defeat.

    “Obviously we didn’t have the best night tonight but it’s only the first leg,” Mascherano said.

    “We have another game next week. We can do what we need to reach the semi-finals.”

    Unbeaten in nine games across all competitions since the start of the season, Messi and Miami arrived in Los Angeles as the form team of Major League Soccer.

    But after a cagey first half that saw neither side manage to get on top, Los Angeles raised their intensity and began causing problems for the visitors.

    LAFC fullback Ryan Hollingshead squandered a golden chance in the 54th minute, blasting well wide after bursting into the penalty area on the overlap.

    They made the breakthrough three minutes later with the 21-year-old homegrown striker Ordaz spinning away from former Barcelona and Spain international Sergio Busquets and thumping a low shot into the bottom corner past Miami keeper Oscar Ustari.

    Argentine superstar Messi, making his first start since returning as a substitute last weekend following a two-week injury layoff, struggled to gain a foothold in the contest.

    Instead it was Los Angeles who looked likeliest to score in front of a raucous home crowd of 22,207 fans at the BMO Stadium that included NBA superstar Stephen Curry, Miami team owner David Beckham and Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni.

    US international Aaron Long headed just over from a free-kick in the 63rd minute, and moments later only a desperate goal-line block from Miami defender Maxi Falcon denied LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman.

    Falcon had one of Miami’s few chances in the second half, glancing a header towards the bottom corner that LAFC’s former France international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gathered comfortably.

    In a sign of mounting Miami frustration, Busquets was booked for a wild challenge on Cengiz Under.

    A disappointing night for Messi was summed up by his failure to make the most of a free-kick in a promising position deep into stoppage time, with the Argentine sending his shot whistling well over the bar as LAFC held on for a deserved victory.

  • Messi on target as Miami reach CONCACAF Champions Cup last 16

    Messi on target as Miami reach CONCACAF Champions Cup last 16

    Lionel Messi was on target again as Inter Miami surged into the CONCACAF Champions Cup last 16 with a 3-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Tuesday, winning the tie 4-1 on aggregate.

    Messi scored in the 1-0 first-leg win in icy Kansas City last week and it took him only 19 minutes to find the target at a much warmer Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale in the return.

    Messi’s former Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez chipped the ball across to the Argentine, who was given too much space by the Sporting defence and punished them by burying the ball into the bottom corner.

    The visitors thought that they had levelled when Dejan Joveljic, a recent signing from Los Angeles Galaxy, had the ball in the net after rounding Miami keeper Oscar Ustari, but the striker was ruled offside.

    Miami doubled their advantage in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Messi sent Jordi Alba down the left and the Spaniard’s low cross was turned in from close range by Tadeo Allende.

    Miami made it 3-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate two minutes later when a dreadful miskicked clearance from Jacob Davis flew across his own area and Suarez hooked the bouncing ball into the corner.

    Kansas City got a goal back in the 63rd minute when Memo Rodriguez’s long-range effect deflected off the back of Maximiliano Falcon and past the wrong-footed Ustari.

    Miami will face Jamaican club Cavalier, the Caribbean Cup champions, in the next round with the first leg to be played in Florida in the first week of March.

  • From Messi comparisons to FA Cup hero – Edwards aims for the top

    From Messi comparisons to FA Cup hero – Edwards aims for the top

    The career of Marcus Edwards has already taken plenty of twists and turns, but on Saturday he opened what could turn out to be his most rewarding chapter.

    Signed on loan from Portuguese giants Sporting on deadline day, the 26-year-old midfielder came off the bench to score the winner as Championship high-flyers Burnley dumped Premier League strugglers Southampton out of the FA Cup.

    A product of Tottenham’s academy once compared to Lionel Messi, after six years in Portugal Edwards has returned to England with the goal of finally playing in the Premier League.

    From Messi comparisons to the bench

    Edwards joined Tottenham at eight years old, and before long his abilities drew comparisons to one of the greatest players of all time.

    “The qualities, his body and the way that he plays, it is reminiscent a little bit from the beginning of Messi,” then Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said in 2016.

    As often seems to happen, the comparison to Messi proved a curse. After loan spells with Norwich and Excelsior in the Netherlands, Edwards was released just three years later. Coaches were unconvinced by his ability and concerned about his behaviour and timekeeping.

    “He was a young boy in and around London and when you’re a young boy sometimes there’s a difference in the way you are, but he’s matured and there’s no denying he’s a special talent,” Burnley manager Scott Parker – who worked with Edwards at Spurs – told BBC Radio Lancashire.

    Without a club at 20 years old, Edwards took the brave decision to move abroad, signing a four-year deal with Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal’s top flight.

    There he spent two and a half seasons – during which he made his European bow in the Europa League – before Sporting signed him in January 2022.

    Under the management of now Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, Edwards’ stock rose significantly – to the point where he was linked with a move to Liverpool.

    In 120 appearances for Sporting he provided 26 assists and scored 24 goals, one of which came against former club Tottenham on his second career outing in the Champions League.

    Yet this season didn’t go according to plan. Amorim’s departure for United, combined with a month on the sidelines with injury, led to Edwards falling out of favour.

    His last appearance for Sporting came on 30 November, more than two months before he joined Burnley.

    Edwards needed just 18 minutes to score his first goal for Burnley

    Sacrificing Champions League football to play in the Championship seems an odd decision, but perhaps it is one that suits both parties.

    Edwards has reunited with Parker 13 years after they first met, when Edwards was in the Spurs academy and Parker was doing his coaching badges.

    “We had a good relationship back then so when I knew he [Parker] wanted me to come that was enough for me,” Edwards said upon joining the Clarets.

    “From knowing what he’s like and how he is, and the fact that Burnley is such a big club in general. It made sense.”

    Burnley are third in the Championship and have built their promotion push on what could prove to be a record-breaking defence.

    In 31 league games this term Parker’s side have kept 22 clean sheets and conceded just nine goals, five fewer than any team in the top two tiers of Spain, Italy, France and Germany.

    Burnley trail league leaders Leeds by five points though, and it’s hard to see past a faltering attack as the main reason why.

    Supporters have seen their side score just 37 goals in 31 games, whereas Leeds have netted 62.

    There have been grumbles at Turf Moor, so Parker will be hoping Edwards can spark life into his attack.

    “He scores the winner, he has been brought in to give us those better habits in and around the box. It’s a good start,” Parker said after the match.

    While Edwards’ close-range finish on Saturday will be among the easiest goals he will ever score, knocking out a Premier League club is not a bad way to endear supporters to you on your debut.

    “It feels good being back in England, playing in the FA Cup,” he said at full-time.

    “I was well prepared. I knew I was going to play today, he [manager Scott Parker] told me yesterday, so I just had to come on and do what I do.”

    At full-time at St Mary’s, Edwards’ new team-mates pushed him towards the travelling fans to receive his own standing ovation.

    He, and they, will be hoping there is more of the same come the final day of the season.