Messi’s Miami thrashed in Champions Cup semi-final

After a crushing semi-final defeat by the Vancouver Whitecaps, Lionel Messi’s hopes of bringing his team’s first Concacaf Champions Cup crown are over.

Miami, who had a 2-0 lead in the first leg, was defeated 3-1 at home in Fort Lauderdale as a 5-1 overall winner.

As their former Barcelona team-mate Jordi Alba opened the scoring for Miami with a low shot in the ninth minute, the legends of Argentina and Uruguay both played a part in the build-up.

However, Miami’s plan to resurrect was thwarted when Javier Mascherano, a former Barcelona star, fired wide with his best chance of the first half.

Before half-time, the Whitecaps hit the outside of the post, while Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari was being tested by both American striker Brian White and Ecuadorian Pedro Vite.

The tie was effectively settled when White’s clever flick into the bottom corner from 10 yards from the visitors came back with a two-goal lead in the 51st minute and a deflected shot from Vite over Ustari from the edge of the box.

In the final, they will face Cruz Azul or Tigres UANL, the two Mexican teams that meet in Thursday’s second semi-final at 2:00 BST on Friday. They will compete to become the first Canadian team to triumph in the regional competition.

Before the club’s transitions to the Club World Cup in June, Miami, who is currently fifth in the MLS Eastern Conference, will play seven home games.

The defeat hurts us a lot because we had hoped to make it to the semi-finals, Mascherano said.

“But we must accept that our foes outsmart us,” he said.

We must now concentrate on MLS.

I don’t think about the Club World Cup, “here. It would be foolish to concentrate on that for another month and a half.