Nashville SC advanced past Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16, drawing Lionel Messi's team 1-1 in Ft. Lauderdale to advance to the quarterfinals on away goals, thanks to a second-half equalizer from Cristian Espinoza.
The vibe check (TL;DR)
- What happened: Cristian Espinoza's late goal saw Nashville SC advance past Inter Miami on away goals, eliminating Lionel Messi and the reigning MLS Cup champions from the Concacaf Champions Cup.
- What we learned: Despite an imperfect performance, Nashville showed plenty of resiliency to come back from a goal down, and were once again excellent defensively.
- Big picture: For the first time since 2023, Nashville eliminate Miami from a competition, and while the result wasn't technically a win, Nashville fans will count it as one.
Highlights
Key moments
- 4' | Germán Berterame receives the ball wide open inside the penalty area, but Brian Schwake makes a crucial save to deny the early lead.
- 7' | Lionel Messi opens the scoring with the 900th goal of his career, cutting across Jeisson Palacios and finishing through a crowd of bodies.
- 36' | Schwake makes another huge save to deny Tadeo Allende on a breakaway, tipping the ball over the bar after a really sloppy midfield giveaway.
- 67' | Cristian Espinoza plays Hany Mukhtar clean through on goal, but Nashville's captain skies the chance over the bar to waste the best opportunity of the series.
- 74' | After mounting pressure from Nashville, Espinoza finds the breakthrough, smashing the ball in from close range after a scrum in front of Miami's goal.
Standout performers
- Cristian Espinoza was heavily involved in the few chances Nashville managed to create, setting up Mukhtar for the best look of the night. Eventually, the Argentine found the crucial goal.
- Reed Baker-Whiting changed the match for Nashville off the bench, replacing a struggling Dan Lovitz and giving Nashville much more punch down the left flank.
- Should we just put Patrick Yazbek here permanently?
Lineup notes
BJ Callaghan reverted to the nearly same lineup that earned a 0-0 draw in the first leg, bringing back Warren Madrigal to the left wing and Matt Corcoran in midfield. Dan Lovitz was the only change from the first leg, replacing Reed Baker-Whiting in the XI.
What it means
It's a massive result for Nashville, who had fallen victim to Inter Miami several times since Messi's arrival in 2023. The 'Yotes advance to the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals, where they'll take on the winner of Club América versus the Philadelphia Union.
Up next
Nashville have another quick turnaround, returning to Geodis Park to take on Orlando City on Saturday night.
Stats
Possession: MIA 60% – 40% NSH
Shots: MIA 10 – 5 NSH
Shots on goal: MIA 6 – 2 NSH
Penalty kicks: MIA 0 – 0 NSH
Goals: MIA 1 – 1 NSH
Expected goals: MIA 0.80 – 1.03 NSH
Total Passes: MIA 474 – 310 NSH
Fouls: MIA 11 – 13 NSH
Yellow cards: MIA 1 – 0 NSH
Red cards: MIA 0 – 0 NSH
