In the Leagues Cup quarterfinal, Inter Miami beat Tigres UANL 2-1 without Lionel Messi, who was hurt. Luis Suarez scored two goals from the penalty spot, one of which was the game-winner in the 89th minute at Chase Stadium on Wednesday.
Even though Miami manager Javier Mascherano was thrown off at halfway and Messi wasn’t there, the Herons made it to the semifinals of the Leagues Cup for the second time in three years. This was also their second big semifinal this season.
In the 23rd minute, Javier Aquino committed a handball in the box, which gave Miami a penalty. Suarez scored the first goal for his club when he shot past Tigres goalie Nahuel Guzman.
Before the second half, Miami’s coach, Mascherano, was sent off with a red card for complaining about how much extra time was extended at the end of the first half.
Mascherano won’t be able to coach the Herons in the playoffs. He could miss three games since he got a red card and talked to his staff over the phone.
After the game, Miami assistant Javi Morales noted that we fought for the extra two minutes we played, even though the referee added four minutes at the end of the first half.
Morales said, “What happened at the end of the first half is not clear. The referee added four minutes of extra time, and we ended up playing six or something like that.”
“So we fought about the time, and then you started to chat. The referee claimed Javier [Mascherano] got a red card, but it wasn’t obvious what happened.
“We didn’t learn much. We were upset about the extra time.
Angel Correa tied the game for Tigres in the 67th minute when Juan Brunetta sent a low pass. The referee then used video review to call Aquino for a handball in the penalty area, which was another foul by Tigres UANL.
Suarez scored the game-winning goal for Miami again. Next week, Miami will play Orlando City at home in the semifinals.
