The most eagerly awaited clash in Fort Lauderdale in the semi-finals of the Leagues Cup had Lionel Messi's return as its most anticipated moment, and the Argentine was totally essential in Inter Miami's 3-1 win over Orlando City at Lockhart Stadium, with the Argentine coming very close to winning his second title.
However, the task for Javier Mascheranno's men wasn't easy and Orlando City were superior throughout the first half, mainly due to the individual efforts of Argentinian Martín Ojeda and Colombians Eduard Atuesta and Luis Murillo. As early as the 9th minute, Ojeda advanced into the area from the left and struck a fierce shot that was parried by Oscar Ustari.
Rodrigo de Paul tried to get a reaction with a mid-range shot, but Orlando came closest to scoring again when Ivá Angulo's fatal counter-attack ended in a deflected touch by goalkeeper Ustari in a one-on-one. With a lot of insistence during the rest of the first half, Orlando opened the scoring thanks to Maximiliano Luján's mistake, allowing Pasalic to go one-on-one against Ustari and beat the keeper with a firm shot.
Inter Miami's comeback in the second half
Inter Miami came back into the second half with a new attitude and Lionel Messi tried to dribble past defenders, while Orlando City regretted the sending off of Slovenian David Brekalo, who also received a second yellow card and was sent off. Messi beat Gallese with a strike near the far post and started the comeback with a numerical advantage.
Ten minutes after the equalizer, Jordi Alba recovered from a shot near the left post and provided a sensational assist for Messi to turn the game around flawlessly. With the lead in hand, Inter Miami had more pace until they scored the third and best goal of the game, when a move that started in the defensive half ended with Suárez providing the pivot for Segovia to set up the score and leave Inter Miami in the final of the Leagues Cup for the second time in three years.