Inter Miami and Los Angeles FC clash again this Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, with a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals on the line. The California squad holds the advantage after winning the first leg 1-0 at home, thanks to Nathan Ordaz's score. The matchup features two squads with contrasting histories, experienced rosters, and quite contrasting physical states, all in a tournament that still has the away goals rule in place.
Herons in pressure heading into the game
Messi’s team needs to win by two goals to advance directly. A 1-0 win would take the game into extra time. But if they concede, they’ll have to score at least three. The rules are clear, and the away goal carries weight. The team knows that if LAFC scores, things get much harder. And anyone following this tournament knows LAFC doesn’t waste this kind of advantage.
Ordaz was the difference in the opening leg. The 21-year-old forward scored in his second straight Champions Cup match, becoming the youngest MLS player to find the net in a Champions Cup game since the 2016-17 season. His long-range bottom-corner strike gave LAFC the lead. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris also was big, recording three saves and another shutout — his third of the competition. LAFC's backline has now achieved six clean sheets in 12 games in the 2025 season.
LAFC scored first, and looked ahead
While Los Angeles won and granted key players the weekend off, Inter Miami experienced a tough stretch. They tied 1-1 with Toronto on Sunday and fell behind in the MLS regular-season standings. Earlier, they had already lost to LAFC. The dependence on the biggest stars of the team is concerning. Messi, Suárez, and Jordi Alba all featured for 90 minutes against Toronto, as they had in the first leg. Now that Busquets has been ruled out of the final game, Javier Mascherano will be required to use Yannick Bright and Federico Redondo in midfield.
They have been brought off the bench but will now be required to control the middle of the field without the team's most experienced player. Busquets had played an important role in creating build-up and controlling tempo, and it will be sorely missed in a match where Miami will need to hold on to the ball and press.
On LAFC’s side, the plan was clear. In their last MLS match, against Houston, coach Steve Cherundolo made eight changes to the starting lineup. Only Lloris, Denis Bouanga, and Eddie Segura played both matches in full. The idea was obvious: rest to decide. The team knows that if they score, they make Miami’s life a lot harder. And without Busquets, there is space to speed up play in the third, with attacking triangles in the same space the Spanish midfielder usually occupies.
LAFC find the key to shutting down Messi?
How LAFC was able to shut down Messi in the first leg was one of the biggest takeaways. The team fell into a medium-low block, with multiple defenders surrounding the Argentine most of the time he received the ball, and cutting off space in their half. All passes and dribbles were contested, and Miami was struggling to penetrate. That did not only stifle the No. 10 but isolated Suárez as well, with fewer touches and barely ever called upon. Messed had five goals and two assists on the Concacaf Champions Cup stage. Suárez has three goals and an assist on the year as well. But on the game when both would have been expected to play in full measure, they contributed nothing.
The task from now onwards will be breaking through despite being double-teamed, fatigue of their body after sustained physical exertion, and pressure to grab something. There is a chance on hand, but what this side needs to generate under current conditions is absolutely different. The Herons know they cannot match the performance of the first leg. And they also know that sustaining possession will not be enough. They will have to be more penetrative up front, press sooner, and not be exposed in transition. The two players in midfield work extremely hard. Redondo and Bright will need to defend the backline, create, and keep the tempo going for a team that has to win and win big.