Messi, Inter Miami face LAFC on Wednesday in Champions Cup quarterfinal. What you should know
Café Bustelo is one of Inter Miami’s sponsors, and fans may want to drink a cup of Cuban coffee Wednesday night to make sure they are awake to watch the road game against Los Angeles FC in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal.
It is a highly anticipated matchup that kicks off at 11:30 p.m. Eastern time. Fans can watch the game in English on FS1 and in Spanish on TUDN and ViX+.
Any time a Miami team faces an L.A. team, it is bound to be a glitzy affair with celebrity spectators, and this one is no exception.
The sport’s biggest star, Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi, draws crowds wherever he goes. He returned from an adductor injury last Saturday in the second half against the Philadelphia Union and scored the game-winning goal two minutes after entering the game. He made the trip to Los Angeles and is expected to play.
“The minutes that he played [against Philadelphia], he felt good, and he got to play 45 minutes with the stoppage time, so that was good for him, and I expect he will be fit to play,” said Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano, who would not reveal whether Messi would start or come off the bench.
As for who will who will start at goalkeeper, Mascherano will not reveal that until game day, either. Oscar Ustari, who had been starting while co-captain Drake Callender recovered from an adductor injury, left the Philadelphia game cramping with four minutes to go and Callender saw action for the first time this season. Mascherano said Ustari is fine, but would not say if he would start.
Inter Miami is unbeaten through nine MLS and Champions Cup games in Mascherano’s debut season. The team has eight wins, one tie, and is riding a seven-game win streak. The team traveled to L.A. on Monday to get acclimated to the time zone and to have an extra day for players, coaches and staff to bond off the field, Mascherano said.
Miami and LAFC play the second leg of the series at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on April 9. The winner of the home-and-home series advances to meet either Vancouver Whitecaps or Pumas UNAM in the semifinals of the tournament.
LAFC made the Champions Cup finals in 2020 and 2023 and beat the Columbus Crew 4–2 on aggregate in the Round of 16 last month. Denis Bouanga, the MLS Golden Boot winner in 2023 and co-runner-up with Messi and Luis Suarez last season, scored three of L.A.’s four goals against the Crew.
Bouanga, a native of France who represents Gabon internationally, earned the Champions Cup Golden Boot and Best XI honors in the 2023 tournament.
Despite a roster that includes Bouanga, and French World Cup stars Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris, LAFC has been inconsistent so far this year. They have won just two of their previous six games, and one of them was against last place Sporting Kansas City.
They are coming off a 3-2 road loss at expansion team San Diego FC. Over the past five matches, L.A. has scored five goals and allowed 11.
Coach Steve Cherundolo and Lloris said their team must play at its highest intensity to keep up with Miami and all its stars.
“It’s always a great challenge for any player to face one of the best players in football history, but I think it’s just a game between LAFC and Inter Miami,” Lloris said. “We have to increase our level of intensity when we face players like Leo Messi, Luis Suarez, [Sergio] Busquets, and [Jordi] Alba. If we do that, we can compete against any team.”
Cherundolo said Inter Miami has become more dangerous in transition under Mascherano, winning games they could have tied or lost.
Miami midfielder Benja Cremaschi said the defensive improvement is a testament to the new coaching staff and the defensive commitment of the players.
“Since preseason the coaching staff has been working on us being structurally better on defense,” he said. “Being more organized, more compressed, tight and we players are focused on keeping a clean sheet every single time. We know we have the players to score goals. We scored a lot of goals last year, we’re scoring a lot of goals this year. And this year we have less goals against. I think that’s props to the coaching staff and to us players on committing to whatever they are asking of us.”
Messi Bodyguard No Longer on Sideline
Lionel Messi’s personal bodyguard Yassine Cheuko, who seemed to get more field time than some of Messi’s teammates as he chased down selfie-seeking pitch invaders, is no longer on the sideline during games.
Inter Miami confirmed that it was a club decision to limit Chueko’s sideline access. Major League Soccer allows teams and players to reinforce security by employing bodyguards, if they so choose, but they must remain in designated areas, usually behind the bench. They are not allowed close to the fourth official’s table or the technical areas. Cheuko still works for Inter Miami and is around the club facilities, but he will not be on the field for games.
In an interview with social media channel House of Highlights, Cheuko said: “I was in Europe for seven years working for Ligue I and the Champions League and only six people invaded the pitch. I arrived in the United States, and in 20 months of work, 16 people have already invaded the pitch. There’s a huge problem here. I’m not the problem. Let me help Messi.
“I love MLS and Concacaf, but we have to work together.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 6:05 PM.