Columbus Crew defeated Inter Miami 3-2 with to two goals from Diego Rossi in the second half, advancing them to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The Uruguayan striker tied the game in the 69th minute and scored the game-winning goal in the 80th to eliminate Miami, who also top the MLS league standings this season.
The key player for Miami, Lionel Messi, was still out due to an ankle injury he sustained during Argentina’s Copa America final victory against Colombia one month prior.
With the win, the defending MLS champion Crew will visit New York City, who defeated Tigres 2-1, in a quarterfinal match on Saturday.
Inter Miami took a 1-0 lead thanks to goals from Paraguayan midfielder Matias Rojas and fellow countryman Diego Gomez in the tenth and 62nd minutes, respectively, but US striker Christian Ramirez responded for the Crew in the 67th, paving the way for Rossi’s game-winning brace.
The competition includes Mexican teams from Liga MX and MLS. Shortly after moving to Florida, Messi led Miami to the first-ever championship last year.
To get to the final eight, New York City pulled together.
The Tigres captain, Argentine midfielder Guido Pizarro, gave the team the lead with a header in the 18th minute, but Maxi Moralez, another Argentine midfielder, gave City the equalizer in the 20th.
In the 65th minute, Santiago Rodriguez, a Uruguayan, scored City’s winning goal.
Tai Baribo’s two goals helped the Philadelphia Union defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 4-2.
With goals from Israeli attacker Baribo in the 61st minute and Danish forward Mikael Uhre in the 51st, Philadelphia took a 2-0 lead.
In the 66th and 80th minutes, respectively, US defender DeAndre Yedlin and Czech midfielder Pavel Bucha equalized for Cincinnati.
Following goals by US replacement Quinn Sullivan in the 84th and Baribo in the 82nd, the Union rallied.
