Inter Miami battled through to the semi-finals of the Leagues Cup with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Tigres UANL despite the absence of Lionel Messi and the dismissal of coach Javier Mascherano.
Messi was trending towards playing when reports emerged that suggested he had been able to train – albeit on his own – the day before the game but the Argentina captain was ruled out due to a nagging hamstring injury.
It didn’t appear to be a hindrance to Miami when Luis Suarez put them ahead from the penalty spot after Javier Aquino handballed inside the area.
But things took a turn for the worse for the home team as, first, former Spain full-back Jordi Alba limped off after colliding with team-mate Telasco Segovia and then Mascherano was sent to the stands after complaining about the amount of time added on at the end of the first half.
Angel Correa levelled for Tigres midway through the second half but Miami were awarded another penalty a minute from the end of normal time and Suarez again converted.
Tigres almost snatched a tie in injury time but Edgar Lopez’s header came back off both posts.
Mascherano facing ban for ref row
Miami will face Floridan rivals Orlando City in the last four but may do so without Mascherano in the dug-out.
The Argentine could be hit with a three-game ban for his actions, although assistant Javi Morales was coy when asked what had happened.
“It is not clear, what happened at the end of the first half is that the referee added four minutes [of added time] and we ended up playing six or something like that,” Morales said after the game. “So we argued about the time, you are human and you start to talk. It wasn’t clear but the referee said Javier [Mascherano] got a red card and that’s it.
“We didn’t get much information. We were complaining about the added time.”
Mascherano did not help his cause for leniency by standing behind the dug-out and barking at his players after being dismissed. Competition rules state a red-carded coach cannot give instructions to his team.
