MIAMI: After losing 3-1 to the New England Revolution on Saturday, Lionel Messi’s future team Inter Miami suffered its sixth straight setback and stayed at the bottom of Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference.
If Messi had been tuning in to see what the MLS has in store for him, his disappointment at Miami’s poor play would have been softened by a miraculous goal from Columbus’ Lucas Zelarayan.
According to AFP, with the score tied at one after three minutes of stoppage time, Zelarayan of the Crew scored an incredible goal from within his own half to defeat Chicago and win the match.
The future colleagues of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s performance as they kept up their terrible form was in sharp contrast to that degree of technical brilliance.
Following a careless foul on Matt Polster by former Newcastle United fullback DeAndre Yedlin, New England seized the lead in the 27th minute on a penalty kick from Carles Gil.
When French player Corentin Jean was taken away on a stretcher with what seemed to be a terrible injury, Miami’s problems only became worse.
A few minutes later, New England increased its advantage with a Polster angled header from a Gil corner.
In the 51st minute, thanks to some terrible defending that let Bobby Wood score the third goal, the Revolution secured the victory.
Inter lost for the second time in a row under interim coach Javier Morales, despite Josef Martinez’s 84th-minute penalty giving Miami some small solace.
Flawless execution
Cucho Hernandez’s deflected shot gave the Crew the lead at Chicago in the 58th minute, but the Fire appeared to have secured a point when Swiss star Xherdan Shaqiri equalised in the 88th.
Zelarayan, however, beat Richey with just a few seconds left after seeing him off his line and shooting from five yards behind the halfway line.
Champions After losing the CONCACAF Champions League final to Mexico’s Leon on Sunday and being held to a scoreless draw at home by Atlanta on Wednesday, Los Angeles FC had a horrible week. Steve Cherundolo’s team was defeated 4-0 at Houston.
In the eleventh minute, Nelson Quinones, a Moroccan international of French descent, cut in from the left and struck a right-foot effort into the far corner. Amine Bassi later made it 2-0 from the penalty spot.
To add the third goal, Corey Bair took full advantage of some shoddy defending, and Franco Escobar finished off the onslaught with a long-range goal in the dying seconds.
There was a lot of drama in Charlotte, as Peruvian Raul Ruidiaz’s outstanding shot from outside the box gave the Seattle Sounders the lead.
The former Burnley player Ashley Westwood scored a stunning curling goal for the home team in the 53rd minute to help them fight back.
Seattle regained the lead in the 70th minute when Ruidiaz, who had only recently returned from injury, turned in at the back post. Charlotte responded by mounting another comeback, but Patrick Agyemang’s header in the 89th minute ensured a 3-3 tie.
Giorgos Giakoumakis gave Atlanta United the lead before his fellow countryman Taxiarchis Fountas equalised for D.C. United in a 3-1 defeat for Wayne Rooney’s team.
Thiago Almada of Argentina brilliantly set up Andrew Gutman to make it 2-1 for the Georgia team, and the left wing-back later delivered a low cross for Tyler Wolff to score.
Mason Toye also had a brace for Montreal in their 4-0 thrashing of Minnesota, and Mexican Alan Pulido scored twice for Sporting Kansas City in their 4-1 rout of Austin. AFP
