Diego Rossi’s two second-half goals fired defending MLS champion Columbus Crew past defending champion Inter Miami 3-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup on Tuesday. The Uruguayan striker raised the level of the hosts Crew in the 69th minute and scored the decisive goal in the 80th to dethrone Miami, the overall MLS leader this season. Miami star Lionel Messi did not play as he was still sidelined with a right ankle injury suffered a month ago in Argentina’s Copa América final victory over Colombia.
With the victory, the Crew will play host to the quarterfinals on Saturday against New York City, who beat Tigres 2-1.
Paraguayan midfielder Matias Rojas gave Inter Miami a 1-0 lead after 10 minutes and compatriot Diego Gomez doubled the margin with a goal in the 62nd, before North American striker Christian Ramirez responded for the Crew in the 67th, setting up the ground for Rossi’s two winning goals.
The tournament features Mexican teams from MLS and Liga MX, with Messi leading Miami to last year’s inaugural crown shortly after arriving in Florida.
New York City recovered to reach the round of 16.
Argentine midfielder Guido Pizarro, captain of Tigres, opened the scoring with a header in the 18th minute, but New York City equalized in the 20th, through another Argentine midfielder, Maxi Moralez.
Uruguayan Santiago Rodriguez scored the final goal in the 65th minute from the left side, with a left-foot shot inside the far post, to give NYCFC the victory.
In Cincinnati, Tai Barib’s two goals led the Philadelphia Union to a 4-2 victory over the hosts.
Philadelphia took a 2-0 lead with goals from Danish striker Mikael Uhre in the 51st minute and Israeli striker Baribo in the 61st.
Czech midfielder Pavel Bucha responded for Cincinnati in the 66th minute and American defender DeAndre Yedlin scored the equalizer for the home team in the 80th minute.
Union responded with goals from Baribo in the 82nd and American substitute Quinn Sullivan in the 84th.
Mazatlán advances
Philadelphia’s next game will be the quarterfinals at home on Saturday against Mazatlán, who defeated Cruz Azul on penalties after drawing 2-2 in Washington.
Mazatlan took a 2-0 halftime lead with goals from Bryan Colula in the 40th minute and Panamanian midfielder Edgar Barcenas in the first minute of stoppage time.
Cruz Azul were down to 10 men in the fourth minute of the second half when Argentine defender Gonzalo Piovi received a red card.
Cruz Azul, however, were far from finished, as Uriel Antuna scored in the 84th minute and Colombian defender Willer Ditta equalized in the first seconds of stoppage time.
On penalties, Antuna, Ditta and Giorgos Giakoumakis failed to convert and Mazatlán won 3-1 to advance.
In the later quarterfinals on Tuesday, Toluca were in Colorado and the winner would face Mexican champions Club America or St. Louis in the quarterfinals.
San Jose was also at Los Angeles FC and the winner will visit Seattle on Saturday.
France’s all-time leader Olivier Giroud is available for LAFC for the first time since the 37-year-old left AC Milan in May.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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