LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles FC sent Lionel Messi and Inter Miami spinning to their first defeat of the season today, scoring an upset 1-0 victory in their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal first-leg clash.
A 57th-minute strike from Los Angeles-born El Salvador international Nathan Ordaz handed LAFC a precious advantage heading into next Thursday’s return leg in Florida.
Unbeaten in nine games across all competitions since the start of the season, Messi and Miami arrived in Los Angeles as the form team of Major League Soccer.
But after a cagey first half that saw neither side manage to get on top, Los Angeles raised their intensity after the break and immediately began causing problems for the visitors.
LAFC fullback Ryan Hollingshead squandered a golden chance in the 54th minute, blasting his shot well wide of goal after bursting into the penalty area on the overlap.
They made the all-important breakthrough three minutes later with the 21-year-old homegrown striker Ordaz spinning away from former Barcelona and Spain international Sergio Busquets and thumping a low shot into the bottom corner past Miami keeper Oscar Ustari.
Argentine superstar Messi, making his first start since returning as a substitute last weekend following a two-week injury layoff, struggled to gain a foothold in the contest.
Instead it was Los Angeles who looked likeliest to score in front of a raucous home crowd of 22,207 fans at the BMO Stadium that included NBA superstar Stephen Curry, Miami team owner David Beckham and Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni.
US international Aaron Long headed just over from a freekick in the 63rd minute, and moments later only a desperate goal-line block from Miami defender Maxi Falcon denied LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman.
Falcon had one of Miami’s few chances in the second half, glancing a header towards the bottom corner that LAFC’s former France international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gathered comfortably.
In a sign of mounting Miami frustration, Busquets was booked for a wild challenge on Cengiz Under.
A disappointing night for Messi was summed up by his failure to make the most of a freekick in a promising position deep into stoppage-time, with the Argentine sending his shot whistling well over the bar as LAFC held on for a deserved victory.
