Leo Messi's Inter Miami suffers heavy defeat in the Champions Cup semi-finals

Bad news for Leo Messi and Inter Miami: the Orlando team suffered a serious blow in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-finals. In the first leg just finished, Vancouver Whitecaps won 2-0, goals by White and Berhalter, with Miami unable to make good use of their dominant ball possession (69%), in a match where the Argentinian played with his former Barça teammates Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba.

Elsewhere in the competition, Mexican sides Tigres and Cruz Azul draw 1-1. The CONCACAF Champions Cup, equivalent to UEFA Champions League, is almost always dominated by Mexican sides, with Club América being the most successful (winning seven times). The only two times a non-Mexican side won the cup in this century was Seattle Sounders in 2022, Costa Rican Saprissa and Alajuelense in 2004 and 2005, and LA Galaxy in 2000.

Messi has yet to reach a final at the prestigious competitions since he arrived to Inter Miami in 2023. Things are looking more promising at MLS regular season, but it is still soon: they are third in the East Conference and the only unbeaten team, with 8 games played. Last year, Inter Miami won the regular season at MLS with record breaking numbers, but were eliminated by a wild card in the playoff.