Defending champion Inter Miami was ousted from the 2024 Leagues Cup in the Round of 16 Tuesday night after squandering a two-goal second-half lead and losing, 3-2, on the road to the Columbus Crew.

In a thrilling game that could be a preview of the MLS Eastern Conference finals later this season, Inter Miami seemed in control and headed to the quarterfinals after Diego Gomez’s goal made it 2-0 in 62nd minute. But the Crew rallied, as Christian Ramirez and Diego Rossi scored twice in the span of two minutes, and then Rossi got the game-winner to end Miami’s Cup dreams.

“The reality is we played 65 brilliant minutes, and we even had a chance to score a third goal,” said Inter Miami coach Tata Martino. “In 10 minutes that we got disjointed, wanting to pressure high when maybe we were not in condition to do so, they came out fast, found advantages, in the three goals we had players running facing our goal. ... But even when they went up 3-2 we had two clear chances to score. But the truth is, I am very sad with the result because I think we take away too little for what we did against a rival like that.”

The match at Lower.com Field featured defending Leagues Cup champion Miami and defending MLS Cup champion Columbus. Martino warned that the Crew were the best team in the league, but Miami had beaten Columbus in mid-June, and dominated for the first two thirds of Tuesday’s game.

Miami struck first. Gomez, who recently returned from representing Paraguay in the Paris Olympics, forced the Crew defense into a turnover and then sent in a cross to his countryman Matias Rojas, who scored on a diving header at the 10-minute mark.

Then, in the 62nd minute, it was Gomez’s turn to score. Following a fast break, Luis Suarez delivered a perfect pass to an open Gomez, who launched the ball from the left side of the box to the top right corner.

Inter Miami, holding what looked like a comfortable lead 2-0, took a defensive stance, but Columbus continued to attack and scored two goals in two minutes, the first by second-half sub Ramirez in the 67th minute and the second by Rossi in the 69th. Miami, looking rattled, gave up another Rossi goal at the 80-minute mark as the Crew took the lead for the first time.

“When you see how we competed against Columbus, the reality is I have to be satisfied with how we held up in the home of the defending league champion, against a team that was a CONCACAF Champions finalist,” Martino said, adding that he feels his team now is playing much better than it did when it lost to Monterrey in the Champions Cup Round of 16 earlier this season.

Martino was asked why he did not make more substitutions. He replaced Rojas with Julian Gressel in the 68th minute and waited until the 83rd minute to replace Marcelo Weigandt with Ian Fray, Noah Allen with Leo Campana and Fede Redondo with Benja Cremaschi.

“I didn’t see a need to make changes before that,” Martino said. “We were feeling comfortable with how things were going and we were in control.”

Midfielder Yannick Bright added: “It was a tough game. We gave everything we had. They shifted gears, started to attack more, they were more clinical and we suffered for 20 minutes and they took advantage of it. It’s hard to bounce back from two back-to-back goals like that, but we have to do better.”

Miami was without captain Lionel Messi for the 11th game in a row as he recovers from a ligament injury in his right ankle. Center back David Martinez missed the game as he served a red card suspension.

Otherwise, all the players were available except Facundo Farias and Nico Freire, who have long-term injuries. Martino went with a Starting XI of Drake Callender, Sergio Busquets, Tomas Aviles, Rojas, Suarez, Jordi Alba, Gomez, Allen, Bright, Redondo and Weigandt.

Bright, an Italian midfielder and rookie from the University of New Hampshire, has worked his way into the starting lineup this summer. Allen, a Pembroke Pines native who came up through the Inter Miami Academy, is a natural left back and can fill in for Martinez.

Inter Miami was hoping to defend its Leagues Cup title and eliminate the Crew, which was unbeaten in its past five home games and coming off a 4-0 shutout of Sporting Kansas City in the Round of 32.

Miami survived, 4-3, against Toronto FC in the previous round despite being forced to play the final 70 minutes down a man.

Columbus advances to the quarterfinals and will play New York City FC, which beat Mexican club Tigres, 2-1, on Tuesday.

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