Columbus Crew 3-2 Inter Miami: Player ratings as Diego Rossi's brace sinks Herons
- Inter Miami were up 2-0 with less than 30 minutes left to play in regulation
- Diego Rossi bagged a second-half brace to help turn the match around in favor of the Crew
- Columbus will take on Seattle Sounders in the Quarter-finals
Diego Rossi's brace sealed a 3-2 comeback victory for Columbus Crew over Inter Miami in Leagues Cup Round of 16 action at Lower.com Field.
The Herons kicked things off in the best way possible with an opening goal inside the first 10 minutes of action. A loose touch from Columbus' Steven Moreira saw Diego Gomez pounce and run down the byline near the hosts' goal, and the Paraguay international looked up to see Matias Rojas all alone inside the penalty area.
Rojas latched on to Gomez's lofted cross via a headed effort to score his fourth goal of Leagues Cup 2024 and put Miami 1-0 up on the road in the Round of 16.
The Crew would fight back, however, to create a few half chances throughout the rest of the second half and the opening stages of the second 45. But the Herons found their second goal in the 62nd minute.
Luis Suarez found Gomez running with acres of space to his left and El Pistolero played Miami's No. 20 through to the Columbus penalty area. Gomez then returned the favor to Suarez, who was positioned at the top of the Crew's penalty area, before Suarez then played Gomez through on goal and the 21-year-old finished with ease past Nicholas Hagen.
Even though the hosts were 2-0 down with roughly 30 minutes remaining, they didn't give up and managed to pull one back thanks to a close-range header from Christian Ramirez. Max Arfsten sent in the inviting cross that the veteran forward was able to head home to halve the team's deficit in a true super-sub act.
Things went form bad to worse for the Herons in a matter of moments as the Crew tied things up at home. Juan 'Cucho' Hernandez teed up Diego Rossi at Miami's back post, and the Uruguay international made no mistake to claim a rather straightforward tap-in to bring the score to 2-2 in the 69th minute.
Columbus would go on to turn the score around just before the final 10 minutes of regulation. Substitute Mohamed Farsi played Rossi through on goal as Jordi Alba was unable to keep up with the dynamic playmaker. Rossi essentially chipped Drake Callender to send the fans at Lower.com Field into a frenzy as their team overcame a 2-0 deficit to advance to the Leagues Cup Quarter-finals.
On the other hand, it's a frustrating defeat for the Herons as they threw away a two-goal lead in the second half. Miami were unable to accomplish their goal of repeating as Leagues Cup champions without the legendary Lionel Messi while Columbus eye another piece of silverware under Wilfried Nancy.
Inter Miami player ratings ( 5-3-2 )
GK: Drake Callender - 6/10 - Was practically a bystander in the first half. Could've done better on Ramirez's headed effort in the second half.
RB: Marcelo Weigandt - 5/10 - Found himself in a few favorable positions down the right-hand side but couldn't make the most of his chances. Struggled defensively at times as Columbus targeted his side of the pitch during the first half.
CB: Tomas Aviles - 6/10 - Started off on the wrong foot but rebounded as the match wore on. Like Busquets, he also somehow managed to leave Ramirez unmarked at the start of the second 45.
CB: Sergio Busquets - 6/10 - Slotted in the backline due to Hector Martinez's suspension and he didn't skip a beat until the second half. Busquets fell asleep in front of his own goal as Ramirez found the back of the net and was unchallenged.
CB: Noah Allen - 6/10 - Wasn't really at fault for the Crew's first two goals but could've had better positioning on Rossi's winning strike.
LM: Jordi Alba - 6/10 - Not a whole lot to write home about from the veteran full-back. He didn't take up too many attacking positions while also being partly at fault for Rossi's match-winning goal.
CM: Diego Gomez - 8/10 - The Paraguay international's persistent pressing led to the opening goal as he bagged an assist with a perfectly-weighted cross for Rojas. Extended Miami's lead in the second half but it was all for naught.
CM: Yannick Bright - 7/10 - Displayed great anticipation from the first minute to help break up any potential Columbus attacks.
CM: Federico Redondo - 6/10 - Redondo was tidy in possession but it wasn't enough to propel the team to victory.
ST: Matias Rojas - 7/10 - Scored his fourth goal of the competition with a well-placed header that away from Nicholas Hagen.
ST: Luis Suarez - 7/10 - Excelled in the build-up like he usually does but didn't get too many chances himself in front of goal.
Substitutes
SUB: Julian Gressel (68' for Rojas) - 6/10 - Didn't bring the desired impact after coming on.
SUB: Ian Fray (84' for Weigandt) - N/A
SUB: Leo Campana (84' for Allen) - N/A
SUB: Benjamin Cremaschi (84' for Redondo) - N/A
Manager
Gerardo 'Tata' Martino - 6/10 - His approach to the match was fine with the 5-3-2 defensive set-up on the road playing at the reigning MLS Cup champions. After all, his side were in cruise control halfway through the second half before complacency set in. However, his side did throw away a two-goal lead late on that falls back on the head coach as the team has seen out results before but couldn't hack it this time.