It was an inopportune time for Javier Mascherano’s first loss. After nine straight undefeated outings, his Inter Miami squad fell to LAFC in the opening leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal. Nathan Ordaz delivered the sole goal in last week’s tense 1-0 final. Now, Lionel Messi and Miami have ground to make up on their home pitch. The second leg goes down in South Beach, with the winner drawing either Pumas or the Vancouver Whitecaps for the semis.
How to watch Inter Miami vs. LAFC
Los Angeles hosted a raucous house party for its side in the last match. It was a pricey ticket to mess with Messi — Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green were in the building, alongside Kali Uchis, Becky G, Kendall Jenner and so many others. The visitors dominated possession in the first half, but things were scoreless at intermission. Then…
POV: Match Winner in the Champions Cup 🤳#LAFCvMIA | @TheChampions pic.twitter.com/t973aJvsC5
— LAFC (@LAFC) April 4, 2025
Earlier in the match, Mascherano lobbied for Ordaz to be ejected — he went borderline-MMA on Maximiliano Falcón:
🟨 @stuholden doesn’t understand how this wasn’t a red card on Ordaz pic.twitter.com/uyGkN4Su7f
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 3, 2025
If needed, aggregate ties will be broken by away goals, which means if LAFC scores at all on Wednesday, Miami will have to win by at least two.
Sergio Busquets will be held out after accumulating yet another yellow last time out. Messi has six scores in eight outings this season, and played the full 90 minutes in each of Miami’s last two.
Miami is loaded with international stars and commands the most gravity in the league right now, but LAFC offers heavyweights of its own. Frenchmen Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris are in black and gold, along with 2023 MLS Golden Boot Denis Bouanga. Giroud, 38, has a top-tier resume, but has yet to score in MLS play in 14 appearances dating back to his arrival last season. He didn’t play at all in the first leg.
Both sides took disappointing MLS breaks since their previous meeting. LAFC has lost four of its last five league tries and was blanked Saturday by Houston, 1-0. Miami drew with Toronto, 1-1, despite a triumphant Messi strike and 66.8 percent possession.
Los Angeles reached this tournament’s final in 2020 and 2023. Inter debuted with a quarterfinal run last year, falling 5-2 to Monterrey.
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(Photo of Lionel Messi and Igor Jesus: Luke Hales / Getty Images)