In the 84th minute of the match between Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders in the final of the Leagues Cup, the home side were awarded a penalty after a foul inside the box on winger Georgi Minoungou. Alex Roldan converted the penalty and extended the Sounders’ lead to two goals over Miami. However, the penalty could have been stopped.
A tragedy that could have been avoided
“Lionel Messi told Ustari to go left only if he listened,” reads the caption of a post. In the video, Messi can be seen standing well behind the players clustered on the edge of the area, indicating to Ustari that the Seattle star would try to place the ball on the left side of the net. However, the goalkeeper decided to jump in the opposite direction, while Alex, as Messi had predicted, safely slotted the ball to Ustari’s left.
The 2022 World Cup winner was visibly upset by his goalkeeper’s decision to ignore the former’s suggestion and was seen throwing his hands up in frustration. Miami lost the match 3-0 and the Sounders went on to lift their first Leagues Cup trophy. Messi missed several chances, as did Tadeo Allende, and Inter Miami were left with their heads down in front of a full stadium at Lumen Field.
In sport you win and lose
The defeat left Inter Miami missing out on the chance to win another title with Messi. However, the Ballon d’Or winner knows full well that such setbacks are an integral part of the game
A couple of days after the resounding defeat, Leo issued a heartfelt message to the 2023 League Cup champions. “We competed until the final, but this time it was not our turn… We will keep the positive and continue learning while we work to achieve our goals this season,” Messi wrote on social media.
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