RCN news
April 11, 2024 06:37 a.m. m.
Monterrey of Mexico became the last one to qualify for the semifinals of the Concachampions 2024 by beating Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 3-1 this Wednesday in the second leg of the quarterfinals. The American Brandon Vázquez, in the 31st minute, the Argentine Germán Berterame, in the 58th, and Jesús Gallardo, in the 64th, scored Monterrey’s goals. Paraguayan Diego Gómez, in the 86th minute, scored for Inter Miami. In this way, the Monterrey ‘Rayados’ won the tie with an aggregate score of 5-2.
Messi came out in the starting lineup for Inter Miami and played the entire game. The Spanish Jordi Alba was sent off in the 78th minute. The Monterrey fans, who packed the stadium for the opportunity to see Messi, put pressure on the Argentine star from the moment he took the field to do warm-up exercises.
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The game began and harangued by their people, the ‘Rayados’ generated the first dangerous play in the 8th minute when Vázquez connected with a header that goalkeeper Drake Callender blocked with one hand. The goalkeeper appeared again in the 15th to contain a shot that Berterame attempted from outside the area. It took 25 minutes for Messi to get his first glimpse of him. The Argentine went down to midfield to start weaving a play, and after a sequence of touches he appeared in the Monterrey area to connect a shot that went over the crossbar.
Inter Miami and the incredible mistakes for Monterrey goals
Monterrey found the lead 1-0 at 31 thanks to a defensive error by Inter Miami. The Argentine defender Tomás Avilés delayed the ball to his goalkeeper who, in his attempt to play, handed it to Vázquez, who calmly scored the goal.
At 37, Callender avoided the ‘Rayados’ second goal by deflecting a short shot from Argentine Maximiliano Meza with one hand. Before the break, at 45+1, the Uruguayan Luis Suárez enabled Messi in the area who, when offside, connected with a shot that was stopped by the Argentine goalkeeper Esteban Andrada.
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A minute later, Messi projected Suárez with a deep pass, the Uruguayan faced Andrada and put the ball in the goal, but the play was also canceled due to an advanced position. The last emotion of the first half came from the ‘Rayados’ at 45+3 with a powerful shot from Meza that stirred up the fans who shouted the goal, but it was an optical illusion.
As soon as the second half began, at 46, Monterrey launched a threat with a shot from Luis Romo that went over the crossbar. Two minutes later, a new Monterrey warning, now with a free kick taken by the Spanish Sergio Canales and neutralized by the goalkeeper.
Romo tried the mid-range shot again in the 51st minute, this time the ball was deflected into a corner by a defender. Inter Miami was saved in the 53rd when a shot by Vázquez deflected by Argentine defender Nicolás Freire went just wide of the left post. At 57, Callender blocked a left-footed shot by Gallardo that was looking for the lower left corner. Berterame finally made it 2-0 with a cannon shot from the curvature of the crescent of the area, in the 58th minute.
Not even an assist from Messi could save Inter
Gallardo made it 3-0 in the 64th with a stunning header, assisted by Berterame. The situation darkened even more for Inter Miami due to the expulsion, due to a double yellow card, of Alba, who earned two warnings in the 75th and 78th minutes. Near the end, Gómez made it 3-1 for Inter Miami with a shot. head. Messi gave the pass for the Paraguayan’s goal after taking a free kick.
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After the defeat, Gerardo Martino, coach of Inter Miami, commented that “we had talked that if we had a goal against we should not change our position because we still needed two goals.”
“What totally takes us away from the game is Berterame’s goal 15 minutes into the second half, that’s where the tie ended,” he admitted.
Regarding his decision not to make changes, Martino argued that “the players we had on the bench were very young. The development of the game was not there to put them in totally adverse circumstances.”
In the semifinals, Monterrey will face the Columbus Crew, who eliminated the Tigres de México on Tuesday by beating them 4-3 on penalties after drawing 1-1 (2-2 on aggregate).