Messi, Alba lead Inter Miami to 3-1 win over Sounders in Leagues Cup final rematch

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — This time, there were no temper tantrums. No fists flying. No spitting.

A depleted, determined and composed Inter Miami team, led by Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba, dominated the Seattle Sounders, 3-1, on a humid Tuesday night at Chase Stadium in a rematch of the recent Leagues Cup final, which ended in an ugly brawl.

Alba, playing left wing instead of left back, struck first at the 12-minute mark. Yannick Bright got the scoring sequence started by stealing a ball at midfield and getting it to Messi, who passed to a streaking Alba, whose higher position on the field paid dividends.

Then, in the 41st minute, it was time for Alba to feed Messi for a goal. Once again, it was gritty Bright who won a duel high up the field and then delivered the ball to Alba, who crossed it to an outstretched Messi in front of the goal. The Argentine captain put the ball in the back post and the stadium erupted as Messi and Alba embraced.

Bright, the lowest-paid starter at $83,000, was a beast all night and made a strong case for club management to give him an overdue raise and a contract extension.

Asked after the game whether Bright proved he deserves a new contract, Miami coach Javier Mascherano smiled and replied: “We didn’t have to wait until today’s game to say he deserves ... well, I can’t say if he deserves a raise or not because I don’t get involved in that, but he is clearly an important player on our roster. He continues to show that.

“He came back strong from an injury that kept him out a long time. We missed him during the Club World Cup. [Tuesday] he once again showed his value. He’s a player who grows day by day and I am very happy for him.”

Then, in the second half, Ian Fray joined the fun, making it 3-0 on a header off a Rodrigo De Paul cross in the 52nd minute. Seattle, which had lost just one of its past 16 games heading into the match, avoided the shutout with a 69th-minute goal by Obed Vargas.

Miami was eager to avenge a painful 3-0 Leagues Cup final loss two weeks ago. That heated game ended in a post-match brawl that included Inter Miami players and a Seattle staff member throwing punches and Miami forward Luis Suarez spitting on a Sounders security official.

Suarez was handed a six-game Leagues Cup ban for next year and a three-game MLS suspension, the second of which he served on Tuesday.

Sergio Busquets, who hit Vargas in the face during the fracas, and Tomas Aviles, who swung at Sounders players, both got bans and fines from the tournament but were not punished by MLS. Busquets was in the starting lineup for the Seattle rematch, Aviles was out serving a suspension after a pair of yellow cards in a 3-0 road loss to Charlotte FC over the weekend.

With the victory Tuesday, Inter Miami moved up three spots to fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings with three games in hand and seven games remaining in the regular season. The top seven earn automatic playoff berths.

“It was an important, necessary win because we were coming off a loss the other day [3-0 to Charlotte] that the way I saw it we did not deserve such a lopsided score, and it was important to regain positive feelings with a win over a great opponent that eliminated us from a tournament a few weeks ago,” Mascherano said.

“We played the game we had to play with the challenges we faced and we were able to move up the standings and get closer to reaching the playoffs.”

Miami’s starters included Messi, Alba, Bright, Busquets, Oscar Ustari, Ian Fray, Gonzalo Lujan, Maxi Falcon, Noah Allen, De Paul and Tadeo Allende.

A look at Inter Miami’s bench was proof of just how thin the team was for this important game: Rocco Rios Novo was the backup goalkeeper, and the reserve field players were Marcelo Weigandt, Ryan Sailor, 18-year-old Santi Morales, 18-year-old youth academy call-up Daniel Pinter, and Mateo Silvetti, the 19-year-old Argentine forward/winger who arrived from Newell’s Old Boys on Sunday and had his first training session Monday.

Weigandt replaced Fray in the 66th minute and Silvetti made his debut, entering for Allende in the 81st minute. Silvetti was shown his first MLS yellow card two minutes later and shortly thereafter launched his first shot, a powerful right-footer from outside the box that sailed wide right.

“The roster is what it is, but it’s a lot to ask with the number of games we have to play in such a short window of time,” Mascherano said. “No excuses. We will work with who we have and maybe bring up a few from the second team.”

Miami was desperate for a win after dropping to eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Inter Miami has four games in hand on several of its conference opponents with eight games remaining, but has struggled of late, with just one victory in its previous four matches. The men in pink sit a point behind New York City FC for an automatic playoff berth.

Seattle, meanwhile, has been one of the best MLS teams since the summer with just one loss in its past 16 games.

Mascherano insisted there will be no carryover from the tempers that flared during and after the match against Seattle two weeks ago.

“That’s in the past,” he said on Monday morning before training. “Matches don’t repeat themselves. The only thing the same is the opponent. But this is a different game, different competition, different circumstances. It is important for us to have a good performance, win, climb the standings and generate the confidence that this team has had most of the season.”