La narrativa antes del Cruz Azul vs Atlanta United en la Leagues Cup era que si los cementeros quedaban eliminados, su entrenador, Ricardo 'Tuca' Ferretti se iba a quedar sin chamba.
Noventa minutos y una tanda de penales después, el DT puede respirar con cierta tranquilidad: La Máquina sobrevivió al desafío y avanzó a la segunda fase de la competencia.
América llegó a poner orden en la Leagues Cup. Las Águilas arrollaron al St. Louis por 4-0, en un partido donde la nueva dupla dorada del club, compuesta por Henry Martín y Julián Quiñones, combinó de manera perfecta para ilusionar a los fans con un futuro glorioso.
Con excepción de Tigres, Monterrey, León y Mazatlán, los equipos de la Liga MX han sido una lágrima en el torneo que los enfrenta a la MLS, llevando a muchos a pensar "¿y ahora quién podrá defernos?".
Lionel Messi has not only revolutionized the style of play of Inter Miami but also transformed their boutique-ish DRV PNK Stadium into one of the hottest places in the U.S. to spot celebrities.
In just two games, the parade of elite athletes from other sports, actors and singers who have sat in the venue's VIP boxes to watch the Argentine's talent is just impressive.
Here is a running catalog of A-listers that couldn't resist Messi's magnetism.
Kim Kardashian
Miguel Almirón triggered the nostalgia train for Atlanta United fans on Wednesday when he scored in Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Newcastle during a friendly vs. Chelsea. After the goal he hit the old Miguel Almirón Josef Martínez celebration special.
Miguel Almiron scoring in Atlanta just feels right. ❤️
Con dos goles de Germán Berterame, Monterrey derrotó 3-0 a Real Salt Lake y le dio un poco de dignidad a lo que venían haciendo los equipos mexicanos en la Leagues Cup.
La efectividad del delantero argentino enamoró a los aficionados Rayados, pero al mismo tiempo dejó una profunda pregunta en sus bases: ¿es hora de empezar a despedirse de Rogelio Funes Mori?
Qué necesario es este tipo, por Dios.
Inter Miami are scoring goals. Yes, they have been doing it for a couple of years now, but since Lionel Messi's debut less than a week ago, the rest of the world has taken notice, too.
During this process, fans who are joining the bandwagon have also discovered that the club enjoys celebrating those goals by blasting the DRV PNK Stadium's speaker system with some highly divisive earworms.
I mean, you love them. Or you hate them.
The songs in question are two, and two very famous among Latino audiences:
Few would argue that Inter Miami’s high-profile midseason acquisitions have brought Major League Soccer to a level of notoriety that it has never seen before. Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets were always going to bring new fans to DRV PNK Stadium, but Tuesday’s crowd will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Following Messi’s substitution late in the match, videos showed many fans in the crowd leaving their seats and heading home for the night.
Lionel Messi le regaló una nueva noche mágica al Inter Miami.
El fenómeno argentino inició su primer partido como titular para la franquicia de la MLS y mostró que su calidad es inconmensurable, anotando un doblete y registrando una asistencia en la goleada 4-0 sobre Atlanta United en la Leagues Cup.
At the end of the day, it's all about Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba (maybe Luis Suarez) turning around Inter Miami's season with 12 matches remaining and getting them from dead last in MLS to the playoffs.
In the meantime, they might just win the Leagues Cup.
The Leagues Cup is off to an interesting start, and while one side of the binational tournament has seen things like Messi scoring an incredible last-minute free kick winner in one of the most watched games of the year, the other side has the Concacaf Champions League champions stuck sleeping in a Canadian airport for a game in the United States to be played the night after.