They will face the New York Red Bulls, who won in added time
The Argentine had a goal disallowed for offside in the 49th minute
Before a full house at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte triumphed 1-0 this Saturday against Inter Miami thanks to a goal from Colombian Kerwin Calderón and qualified for the MLS playoffs for the first time in its history.
A goal by Calderón in the thirteenth minute and a spectacular save by Croatian goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina after a header by Ecuadorian Leonardo Campana in the 90th minute decided the Charlotte duel, on the last day of the MLS regular season.
Charlotte was one of the five teams that still had a chance of reaching the postseason, but needed a win and some negative results from Montreal and the Chicago Fire.
The defeat of the Canadians against the Columbus Crew and the Chicago Fire in the New York City field, with a great goal from Argentine Julián Fernández, gave Charlotte the ticket for the wild card round next Wednesday.
They will face the New York Red Bulls, who won in added time in the field of Nashville, already qualified, with a maximum penalty scored by John Tolkin.
Inter Miami, led by Argentine coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, finished second to last after winning only 14 of their 34 games.
Messi returned to the starting eleven for the first time since September 20, when he suffered an injury in a duel against Toronto that caused him to miss four games, including the United States Cup final lost against Mexican Héctor Herrera’s Houston Dynamo.
He started alongside Leonardo Campana, but the difference in objectives was evident from the first minute, with Charlotte determined to fight on every ball in search of a victory to go to the playoffs against an Inter that already had no options.
That push by Italian coach Christian Lattanzio’s team was rewarded in the 13th minute, when Kerwin Calderón scored the fourth goal of his season after finishing inside the area, with a good crossed left foot, an assist from the Polish Kamil Jozwiak.
In the moments in which Messi received the ball, the horizons for Inter Miami changed. The Argentine, despite competing with little rhythm, has a level that pushes MLS defenses to the limit, but Charlotte managed to hold on.
They had a goal disallowed for offside in the 49th minute and the crossbar repelled a direct free kick taken in the 62nd minute despite having little angle.
Charlotte forgave the 2-0 with the Polish Karol Swiderski and in the 90th she had to thank Kahlina, who denied Campana the tying goal by touching the Ecuadorian’s header on the center of the Spanish Jordi Alba with her fingertips.
Lattanzio’s team will play the wild card round on Wednesday at the New York Red Bulls field.
Inter Miami will now have a week off, until Monday the 30th, when they will return to work in view of their exhibition tour in China.
The first round pairings will be Orlando-Nashville, Columbus Crew-Atlanta United and Philadelphia Union-New England Revolution, while Cincinnati, winner of the Supporters’ Shield for the best team of the season, will face the winner of the Red Bulls- Charlotte.
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. Data sheet:
1 – Charlotte: Kahlina; Byrne, Malanda, Privett, Uronen; Swiderski (Arfield, m.75), Calderón (Meram, m.67), Westwood, Bronico; Jozwiak (Dejaegere, m.67), Copetti (Jones, m.89), Swiderski (Arfield, m.75).
0 – Inter Miami: Dos Santos; Allen (Alba, m.67), Miller, Avilés, Yedlin; Cremaschi (Robinson, m.75), Busquets, Gregore (Arroyo, m.75); Gómez, Campana, Messi.
Goals: 1-0, m.13: Calderón.
Referee: Guido González (USA). He cautioned Westwood (m.4), Malanda (m.24), Vargas (m.61) and Meram (m.88), from Charlotte, and Gregore (m.18) and Miller (m.93), from Inter Miami.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the last day of the MLS played at the Bank of Americ stadium in Charlotte before nearly 65,000 spectators.