There is chaos in Fort Lauderdale tonight as the uninterrupted first half of the round of 32 match between Inter Miami and Toronto saw five goals and one red card.
The hosts took an instant lead thanks to MatĂas Rojas, who had impressed throughout the tournament and got on the scoresheet again in the first three minutes.
Just minutes later, Diego GĂłmez, freshly returned from his Olympic campaign with Paraguay, slotted the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, showing why he is likely on his way to Brighton in the Premier League and extending Miami’s lead.
But the action wasn’t over yet and Toronto showed that they weren’t going to give up without a fight. After a stupid defensive error in Miami’s penalty area, Lorenzo Insigne reduced the lead to half with a penalty.
But Miami regained the lead just minutes later when Luis SuĂĄrez lobbed a daring shot over Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson, leaving Messi to enjoy the game from the sidelines.
But just when it looked like it wasn’t going to be Toronto’s night, they were given another gift in the form of a defensive error when new signing David MartĂnez brought down a Toronto attacker from behind and was promptly sent off after a VAR review.
Did you think the drama was over? Don’t be silly.
In the final minutes of the first half, it was Jordi Alba who brought down a Toronto striker in the box, forcing the referee to award the Canadian club their second penalty of the night. Of course, Insigne rushed to the goal and scored his brace, cutting Miami’s lead to a point before halftime.
40 minutes, five goals, two penalties and a red card. What more could you want?
It was no surprise that Miami’s 10-man squad regained their two-goal lead after halftime thanks to an absolute delight from MatĂas Rojas.
I don’t think we’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief until the final whistle.
