Dixon Arroyo and Leonardo Campana will never forget August 19, 2023. The Ecuadorian players, along with Lionel Messi, graced the famous front page of Inter Miami CF this Saturday. Led by Gerard Martin, the Florida franchise defeated Nashville SC on penalties (1-1, 9-10 in the shootout) in the League Cup final to win the first title in the club’s history.

Messi opened the scoring on the Nashville turf in the 23rd minute, his 10th goal in seven games at the tournament, but American Fafá Picault equalized in the 57th. Nashville’s Elliot Panicco missed the deciding throw.

The victory underscores Inter Miami’s incredible trajectory since the arrival of Messi, who in less than a month propelled the worst team in the MLS season to victory in the League Cup, a tournament featuring 47 teams from the North American and Mexican leagues.

On the other hand, midfielder Dixon Arroyo played all seven games, all as a starter, and established himself in the middle of the table pink As an inside midfielder on the right side, no more and no less than alongside the world champion with Spain, Sergio Busquets.

Campana came off the bench in the 68th minute in place of Venezuelan Josef Martínez, eleven minutes later Arroyo would be replaced by Víctor Ulloa.

With a fantastic atmosphere at Geodis Park to support the team from the capital, Nashville started with a very compact block and solid pressure in which the visitors were stuck.

The home team were unfazed, fully committed to searching for gold on the counter-attack and whatever the indomitable Hany Mukhtar (MLS MVP and Top Scorer 2022) could come up with between the lines.

The side in pink struggled to respond, with plenty of possession and no depth, but Gerard ‘Daddy’ Martin’s men did not lose patience despite Messi going virtually unnoticed in the first 20 minutes.

In fact, the first chances came for Nashville, first on a deflected shot by Shaq Moore and then on a Walker Zimmerman header that was caught by Drake Callender.

Little by little, Inter Miami found some cracks in Nashville’s wall, especially on the left flank where Jordi Alba was giving his teammates plenty of oxygen.

Robert Taylor tested the home goalkeeper with a dry shot from the left in the 21st minute.

However, the equality of the match made the genius of Messi fly through the air for who knows how many times.

The Argentine, who had been dropping to the middle of the field several times in search of the ball, appeared out of nowhere to grab a rebound in the Nashville attack, cut past Zimmerman and connect a beautiful shot directly into the top corner.

With the result in favor, the slow – although intense – rhythm of the game further favored Inter Miami, while Nashville, still in ‘shock’ from that magical flash of Messi, only found shy traces of danger in some high balls.

Penalties decide

The script didn’t change the rest of the way, with Inter Miami very comfortable with the ball in their possession and setting up Josef Martínez’s shot to Alba’s pass blocked by Zimmerman.

But Nashville suddenly woke up at 57 thanks to a corner.

Mukhtar served it to the near post in search of Sam Surridge and the ball ended up falling into the small area, where Fafà Picault headed it in and the ball bounced off Benjamin Cremaschi and Drake Callender.

The goal fired up Nashville and its fans, while Inter Miami, who seemed to be in control of the final, were a bit touched and tangled in the inaccuracy.

Then the best moments of yellow and black arrived, with inertia in their favor, with an extra point of energy to take over shared balls and eager to open the match definitively.

Inter Miami found the answer in the usual, Messi who hit a double ball in the 71st minute, knocking the cross off the post.

Nashville was undaunted, and finally found their very clean chance on the counterattack with a double option that neither Surridge nor Mukhtar could convert.

Nashville finished the game better, much more dynamically and won with reinforcements such as Costa Rican Randall Leal who entered the attack, against Inter Miami who reached the denouement with real strength and physicality to the limit.

Mukhtar tried in every possible way (free kick, counter, oblique kick…), and in the 92nd minute Surridge also scored with a header.

And yet, Inter Miami came within inches of the final in an incredible and crazy last leg of the game. Ecuadorian Leonardo Campana received a long ball, stepped in front of Elliot Panicco, broke in front of the goalkeeper and still had time to get his wrong shot without anyone, but the last attempt to dive to the ground ended up on the post.

Already in stoppage time, the two teams showed great success, and after the mistakes of Leal and Ulloa, luck decided in the shots of the goalkeeper, where Callender hit Panicco and thus closed Messi’s first trophy in the United States.

(D)