Inter Miami races to a 2-0 lead in Champions Cup behind goals from Suarez, Messi

Inter Miami is 45 minutes away from reaching the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals thanks to the latest goals from superstars Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Messi and Suarez both scored in the opening 23 minutes of Inter Miami’s Round of 16 second leg at Chase Stadium on Wednesday night, giving the South Florida side a healthy lead in the series at halftime.

The opening goal came in the eighth minute off a precise entry pass from Jordi Alba to Messi, who showed off his vision by spraying a through ball to a streaking and open Suarez for a low finish to the right post.

Messi then made it 2-0 in favor of Inter Miami 15 minutes later, clinically burying a chance from inside the penalty area following a penetrating dribbling run from midfielder Diego Gomez.

The strikes gave Tata Martino’s men a 4-2 advantage in the series, putting them in good position to advance to the next round. Inter Miami holds the away-goals tiebreaker after the first leg 2-2 draw in Nashville, Tennessee, last week.

Messi’s finish marked his fifth tally of the year across all competitions. The Argentine superstar had also scored in the first leg at Geodis Park.

Suarez, who authored the dramatic equalizer in that aforementioned stalemate, has scored four times in Inter Miami’s last four games across all competitions.

This story was originally published March 13, 2024 at 9:09 PM.