Recap | Union fall to Inter Miami CF in Leagues Cup showdown

Early goals from some of soccer’s biggest names proved the difference in the Leagues Cup Semifinal as Philadelphia Union fell to Inter Miami CF, 4-1.

The visitors brought some Messi magic and headlines and delivered with Josef Martinez opening the scoring in the third minute followed up by a long-distance goal from the Argentinian himself in the 20th minute. Just before the halftime break Jordi Alba extended their advantage with a counter attack finish to make it 3-0.

Philly dominated the second half with a formation swap but were denied with heroic stops in net by goalkeeper Drake Callender to keep the lead for the visiting side.

Midfielder Alejandro Bedoya returned to the pitch as promised by Head Coach Jim Curtin and three minutes later injected some more energy to Subaru Park with a 73rd minute goal. With a huge offensive push to build off the momentous goal, Inter Miami CF put the match away with a substitute goal of their own from David Ruiz to finish the match off.

While the Philadelphia Union were on the right side of their Leagues Cup Semifinal against Inter Miami CF, the Third Place Match will have large implications with a spot in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup on the line. The Boys in Blue look to conclude the inaugural tournament on a high as they’ll face off against either CF Monterrey or Nashville SC on Saturday, August 19th.

How It Went Down

When The Boys in Blue entered the pitch at Subaru Park, they were met with an eruption of applause from droves of Union faithful that packed the stadium for Tuesday’s anticipated matchup against soccer superstar Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami squad. 

Head Coach Jim Curtin trotted out a very tactically intentional lineup on Tuesday evening, opting for a unique 5-4-1 formation that blended the squad’s 5-3-2 and the 4-4-2 diamond. The team’s defensive depth with the focus Leon Flach, José Martinez, and Jesús Bueno slotted into the middle of the pitch to make things difficult to operate down the middle. 

Inter Miami was welcomed to Subaru Park with a less-than-warm welcome, but within three minutes of the match, they earned a 1-0 lead. Sergii Kryvstov sped a through ball past Damian Lowe to Josef Martinez, who barely beat Jack Elliot to rip a shot from the right side of the box toward the opposite corner, landing just out of Andre Blake’s reach. 

Philadelphia responded with an attack of their own – in the 8th minute, a wide open Daniel Gazdag received a pass across the field from Kai Wagner, and drove towards the net to take a shot from the center of the box, but the attempt was saved by Miami keeper Drake Callender. 

Jesús Bueno hustled to claim the rebound, maintaining Philadelphia possession, but tapped it in the direction of Leon Flach who took a shot and missed to wide left. 

Philadelphia had another opportunity to equalize in the 19th minute — Jakob Glesnes intercepted an Inter Miami pass, contemplating taking a blast from far outside the box, instead choosing to pass to Chris Donovan who fed it to Gazdag who shot it wide right. 

In Miami’s next possession, Lionel Messi put his world-class talent on display, receiving a pass from Josef Martinez in their attacking half of the field. Messi ripped the ball from distance through four Union defenders, placing it in the corner opposite of Andre Blake to extend the score 2-0.

In the 29th minute, Damion Lowe locked down Messi, knocking the ball away toward Gazdag who ripped it toward the net, but into the hands of Callender.

Down 3-0 with 45 minutes to go, Curtin made the aggressive move to bring on  Mikael Uhre and Jack McGlynn to start the second half, replacing Damion Lowe and Leon Flach with fresh legs and offensive threats. The Union’s second half attack started quick – in the 49th minute, José Martinez took a powerful shot from far outside the box that instead landed in the Rivers End that remained rowdy in support of the Union despite the deficit. 

The team persisted for another chance in the 55th minute – Chris Donovan made it past defender and Callender for an open shot on goal, but his shot was too forceful and he sent it high and wide to the left. Donovan nearly scored again in the 60th minute, meeting a Kai Wagner cross with his head but Callendar made another big save, stifling the effort.

While Philly kept pushing to break through and erase the shutout, it allowed the visiting side the opportunity to counter to which they nearly converted in the 69th minute. After a long spell of Union possession, a clearance saw Miami off on a break with a long pass forward to substitute striker Leonardo Campona that got into the box. Battling Elliott at the top of the box, he fired a left-footed shot that was blocked by Blake but provided a rebound opportunity for a goal. Seeing the late run by Messi, Campona shot a pass to the playmaker that was blocked by Glesnes but the Argentine regained possession and fired a one-time that was blocked by Elliott.

Vaulted by the defensive effort, the Union continued to push and draw set piece chances. The effort was rewarded in the 73rd minute with Alejandro Bedoya finishing off a half clearance close to goal to make it 3-1.

Head Coach Tata Martino brought some fresh legs into the contest after conceding to the Boys in Blue, with Hondurian international David Ruiz entering the contest. Like Bedoya had done for Philly with a goal off the bench, Ruiz answered with a back post finish in the 84th minute to seal the result.

Philadelphia Union is back in action on Saturday, August 19th, as they seek to secure the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup berth. Subaru Park will see the Boys in Blue face off against either CF Monterrey or Nashville SC with the official kick off time to be announced in the near future.