Messi scores, but short-handed Inter Miami blown out at Minnesota United 4-1
Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Anthony Markanich and Robin Lod each scored goals to lead Minnesota United to a 4-1 victory over Inter Miami on Saturday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn.
Minnesota (6-2-4, 22 points) won its second consecutive MLS match and third in a row across all competitions. The Loons handed Inter Miami (6-2-3, 21 points) its most lopsided loss in league play this season. Miami played without forward Luis Suarez, who did not make the trip due to personal reasons, and without left winger Fafa Picault due to illness.
Lionel Messi scored his sixth goal this season in MLS play three minutes into the second half to cut Miami's deficit at the time to 2-1. Messi struck when he took a feed from Jordi Alba in the box and quickly redirected the ball into the back of the net near the back post.
But disaster struck later in the second half for Inter Miami when Marcelo Weigandt tried to head away a corner kick by Minnesota's Joaquín Pereyra, but unintentionally tapped the ball into his own goal to push the Loons' edge to 3-1 in the 68th minute.
Moments later, Minnesota took advantage of the momentum swing on a brilliant play by Tani Oluwaseyi, who beat his defender and delivered a perfect cross to Lod. As he came racing up the middle of the field, Lod fired a shot past Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari to stretch the lead to three in the 70th minute.
Minnesota scored on set pieces twice.
The first came just before halftime on a throw-in from Michael Boxall. The long toss was headed across the front of the goal by Nicolas Romero to the back post. Markanich positioned himself under the ball quickly and headed it past Ustari in the second minute of first-half stoppage time to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead.
Hlongwane scored Minnesota's first goal in the 32nd minute off assists from Carlos Harvey and Pereyra, who drew three Miami defenders away from the goal and fed the ball to Harvey in space. Harvey then sent the ball forward quickly to Hlongwane, who snuck it past Ustari.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
NBA Draft 2025: Round 2 live updates, picks, best players available
Day 2 of the 2025 NBA Draft tips off on Thursday with the Minnesota Timberwolves at pick No. 31. Also of note is that the Charlotte Hornets have consecutive selections early in the round at No. 33 and No. 34. The Phoenix Suns have three picks in the round at No. 36 (after a trade with the Brooklyn Nets), No. 52 and No. 59. Teams with a second-round pick that did not have a first-round selection include the Detroit Pistons (No. 37), Indiana Pacers (No. 38 and No. 54), Golden State Warriors (No. 41), Los Angeles Lakers (No. 45), Milwaukee Bucks (No. 47), and Cleveland Cavaliers (No. 49 and No. 58). Advertisement Here are the 20 best available prospects, according to Yahoo Sports' Kevin O' Connor. Among the players still on the board are Stanford's Maxime Reynaud, Serbian prospect Bogoljub Markovic, Auburn's Johni Broome, Tennessee's Chaz Lanier and Duke's Sion James. Check out the 2025 NBA Draft big board for the best available prospects available. The second round has only 29 selections instead of the usual 30 because the New York Knick forfeited the No. 56 pick when an NBA investigation found that the Knicks tampered with Jalen Brunson before signing him as a free agent in June 2022. New York had contacted Brunson and agreed to a four-year, $104 million contract before the league's official free agency period began. Advertisement Here are the grades for the 30 first-round picks from Wednesday with analysis on each of the selections. Date: Thursday, June 26 Time: 8 p.m. ET Location: Barclays Center | Brooklyn, New York TV channel: ABC/ESPN Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more from Round 2 of the 2025 NBA Draft:
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Joe Ryan is pitching like the ace the struggling Twins badly need
MINNEAPOLIS — With their pitching at the core of a damaging slump, the Minnesota Twins held a special meeting to address the failures, frustrations and path forward. Joe Ryan followed it up with a stellar start they badly needed. With Pablo López shelved because of a shoulder injury until perhaps September, Ryan has unquestionably become the staff ace.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Joe Ryan is pitching like the ace the struggling Twins badly need
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack (20) stands on the mound after issuing a walk to Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena (56) during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan throws to the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn) Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack (20) stands on the mound after issuing a walk to Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena (56) during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan throws to the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With their pitching at the core of a damaging slump, the Minnesota Twins held a special meeting to address the failures, frustrations and path forward. Joe Ryan followed it up with a stellar start they badly needed. With Pablo López shelved because of a shoulder injury until perhaps September, Ryan has unquestionably become the staff ace. Advertisement 'You feel like you're going to win every time he pitches,' manager Rocco Baldelli said Thursday, a day after Ryan threw a three-hitter over six scoreless innings to beat Seattle 2-0 and stop Minnesota's five-game losing streak. 'You definitely look forward to the days where he's on the bump and you get a chance to watch him throw, because you feel like anything's possible.' The 29-year-old right-hander is well on track for his first All-Star selection, with a career-best 2.86 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 91 innings. Ryan, who struck out major league home run and RBI leader Cal Raleigh three times on Wednesday, has an 0.887 WHIP that's the third best in baseball among pitchers with a qualified amount of innings. After the game, he delivered a sermon of sorts on the value of the art of pitching over the data-driven revolution that has defined the approach for about every team in the sport. 'At the end of the day, it's a competition and you can't really put numbers to everything that goes into that,' Ryan said. Advertisement That competitive edge is an ace-like attribute that Ryan clearly has. 'I think he likes being the man, and I think he likes having the ball in his hands,' Baldelli said. Over the three-week stretch entering their game on Wednesday, the Twins had a 7.67 ERA that was by far the worst in MLB, according to Sportradar. Their 1.62 WHIP was the worst during that span from June 5-24 while they lost 15 of 18 games and tumbled into fourth place in the AL Central. 'We're the ones to blame, including myself,' said starting pitcher Chris Paddack, who took the lead along with pitching coach Pete Maki during the pregame meeting on Wednesday. 'It's just tough, a lot of crooked numbers the last couple of weeks, but it's going to change.' Advertisement Before López and fellow starter Zebby Matthews were sidelined by shoulder injuries earlier this month, the Twins were in a groove on the mound. Their 13-game winning streak in May was fueled by the starting pitching, which ranked fifth in MLB with a 3.40 ERA and third with a 1.16 WHIP through June 4. 'The meeting was something that really stemmed from the following idea: There are things you can control and that you should attack and there are things that you have less control over,' Baldelli said. 'Not that those things aren't going to be on your mind, but focus on the things that you can clearly control and do those things exceptionally well and start there. That was a good reminder, I think, for everyone in the room.' ___ AP MLB:
