Inter Miami blows 2-0 lead, loses to Columbus Crew 3-2, eliminated from Leagues Cup
Defending champion Inter Miami was ousted from the 2024 Leagues Cup in the Round of 16 Tuesday night after squandering a two-goal second-half lead and losing 3-2 on the road to the Columbus Crew.
The much-hyped, star-studded Miami team, which lost in the quarterfinals of CONCACAF Champions Cup in early April, was back home Wednesday morning with eyes set on the only prize left this season -- an MLS Cup title. Inter Miami sits atop the league standings with nine games remaining in the regular season.
Asked if the season would be considered a failure with anything less than the MLS Cup title, Miami coach Tata Martino said: “This story of the success, the failure, the analysis after every game to see if the team is evolving, if it’s not evolving…it is very difficult to respond if you evaluate things strictly by the results.
“If you see how we competed against Columbus, at their home, the defending MLS champion and a finalist in CONCACAF Champions (Cup)…we were at a different team against Monterrey (in April) than we are now. We will try to win the league trophy because that is the only one left, but I cannot accept that you measure everything by if you won or lost. I accept it because those are the rules of sport. But my analysis is different.”
In a thrilling Leagues Cup game that could be a preview of the MLS Eastern Conference finals later this year, Inter Miami seemed in control and headed to the quarterfinals after Diego Gomez’s goal made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute.
But the Crew rallied and scored three unanswered goals as Christian Ramirez and Diego Rossi scored in the span of two minutes, and then Rossi added the game winner to end Miami’s dream of lifting the Leagues Cup trophy a second summer in a row.
Miami had a few clear chances to equalize in the waning minutes, but couldn’t finish.
“The reality is we played 65 brilliant minutes, and we even had a chance to score a third goal,” Martino said. “In 10 minutes that we got disjointed, wanting to pressure high when maybe we were not in condition to do so, they came out fast, found advantages...But even when they went up 3-2 we had two clear chances to score. The truth is, I am very sad with the result because I think we take away too little for what we did against a rival like that.”
Midfielder Yannick Bright added: “It was a tough game. We gave everything we had. They shifted gears, started to attack more, they were more clinical and we suffered for 20 minutes and they took advantage of it. It’s hard to bounce back from two back-to-back goals like that, but we have to do better in those moments. We need to run more for each other.”
The match at Lower.com Field featured defending Leagues Cup champion Miami and defending MLS Cup champion Columbus. Martino warned that the Crew was the best team in the league, but Miami had beaten Columbus in mid-June, and dominated for the first two thirds of Tuesday’s game.
Miami struck first. Gomez, who recently returned from representing Paraguay in the Paris Olympics, forced the Crew defense into a turnover and then sent in a cross to his countryman Matias Rojas, who scored on a diving header at the 10-minute mark.
Then, in the 62nd minute, it was Gomez’s turn to score. Following a fast break, Luis Suarez delivered a perfect pass to an open Gomez, who launched the ball from the left side of the box to the top right corner.
Inter Miami, holding what looked like a comfortable 2-0 lead, took a defensive stance but Columbus continued to attack and scored two goals in two minutes, the first by second-half sub Ramirez in the 67th minute and the second by Rossi in the 69th. Miami, looking rattled, gave up another Rossi goal at the 80-minute mark.
Martino was asked why he did not make more substitutions. He replaced a tired Rojas with Julian Gressel in the 68th minute and waited until the 83rd minute to replace Marcelo Weigandt with Ian Fray, Noah Allen with Leo Campana and Fede Redondo with Benja Cremaschi.
“I didn’t see a need to make changes before that,” Martino said. “We were feeling comfortable with how things were going and we were in control.”
Miami midfielder Sergio Busquets added: “We had a very good first half, went into the locker room with a positive result, and in the second half they added offensive players and we knew they were going to attack and look to score goals, especially on counters. It’s a shame. We wanted to keep going in the tournament, we fought until the end and had two late chances to score but were unlucky that they didn’t go in.”
Lionel Messi Watched Game from Home
Miami was without captain Lionel Messi for the 11th game in a row as he recovers from a ligament injury in his right ankle. Martino said Monday that the Argentine legend is improving each day, working out in the gym, but he had no estimate for when he will return to training on the field. Center back David Martinez missed the game as he served a red card suspension.
“We know what a difference Leo makes,” Busquets said. “We wish we could have had him with us. But injuries are part of futbol. It’s a shame he wasn’t here because we would have had more chances with him.”
When is Inter Miami’s Next Game?
Columbus advances to the quarterfinals and will play New York City FC, which beat Mexican club Tigres 2-1 on Tuesday. Miami’s next game is Aug. 24 at home against FC Cincinnati, which stunned Inter Miami 6-1 on the road on July 6. Tickets are available at TicketMaster and at VividSeats, StubHub and other secondary market outlets.
