Messi's Inter Miami advances to MLS Cup final with 5-1 win over NYCFC in East final
Fort Lauderdale (AP): Lionel Messi will play for another trophy. Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets clearly aren't ready to begin their retirements, either.
Tadeo Allende scored three goals — Alba and Busquets, a pair of longtime Messi teammates who will retire when this season ends, had the assists on his first two — and Inter Miami topped New York City FC 5-1 on Saturday night for the Eastern Conference title and a berth in the MLS Cup final.
Mateo Silvetti scored in the 67th minute for Inter Miami, with Messi setting up that goal — the 405th assist of his career for club and country, which is generally believed to be the most in soccer history. Telasco Segovia scored off a heel pass from Alba in the 83rd minute to turn it into a runaway, and Allende finishing off the hat trick in the 89th minute was the final play.
“We have reached the final with a brotherhood of moving forward," Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “The power of one group can overcome many things.”
Tennis star Carlos Alcaraz brought the East trophy onto the field to present to Inter Miami's ownership, before it was handed to Messi. Fireworks, confetti and a ton of happy photos and hugs followed, but it was also clear this wasn't the trophy Inter Miami wants most.
“We have made a fantastic playoff run and are very deserving of reaching the final," Silvetti said in Spanish.
Inter Miami — the No. 3 seed in the East — will play host to either San Diego or Vancouver for the league title on Dec. 6 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. San Diego and Vancouver play for the Western Conference title later Saturday night.
It'll be the first MLS final appearance for Inter Miami, which had never made it past the opening postseason round in any of its first five seasons. Messi's club went 0-2 against Vancouver this season, losing both legs of a semifinal meeting in the CONCACAF Champions Cup by a 5-1 aggregate.
Justin Haak scored in the 37th minute for NYCFC, which went 0-2-1 against Inter Miami this season.
The win moves Inter Miami one step closer to another trophy, after winning the Leagues Cup in 2023 and the Supporters' Shield as MLS' top regular-season team last year. Messi, a World Cup champion for Argentina and now eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, joined the team midway through the 2023 season when it was at the bottom of the MLS standings and in an 11-match winless streak.
Now? The club's brand is global, Messi's No. 10 jersey in the club's pink kit is sold all over the world, a new stadium near Miami International Airport is on the way for next season, Messi is signed through 2028, he seems like a lock to win his second consecutive MLS MVP award and the team is on the brink of an MLS title.
Stars flock to see this team because of Messi; Alcaraz was there Saturday night, as were some members of the U.S. women's national team.
“Everyone in the world knows who Lionel Messi is. ... I think everyone thought he would come in here and do exactly what he's done,” said U.S. women's forward Lindsay Horan — whose Messi fandom goes back many years.
Messi got struck along the left side of his head in the ninth minute and was briefly shaken up, remaining down near the center circle for a few seconds before eventually getting to his feet. He got tripped with Inter Miami on the attack about two minutes later, then took a direct kick from about 30 yards out — playing it into the box, but Silvetti's header was easily caught by NYCFC goalie Matt Freese.
Inter Miami's next chance came a minute later. This one was cashed in — a long pass from Busquets was controlled by Allende, who easily beat Freese from about 12 yards out for a 1-0 lead.
Allende struck again on a header off a long pass from Alba in the 23rd minute, making it 2-0. And after Messi set Silvetti up for the 3-1 lead, what essentially was a 25-minute or so countdown to a celebration was underway.
“This is a very satisfying result but the work continues," Allende said in Spanish. "There is still work to do but happy with what we have accomplished.”
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
