CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 15: Jack McGlynn #16 of Philadelphia Union controls the ball against Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF in the second half during the Leagues Cup 2023 semifinals match between Inter Miami CF and Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park on August 15, 2023 in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Tuesday night, Philadelphia had a brush with soccer greatness. Lionel Messi became the best soccer player to step onto the pitch at Subaru Park since Sebastien Le Toux (real Union fans respect the legend). A packed crowd of Union fans, unfortunately, had to see him and Inter Miami tear our team apart in the Semi-Finals of the Leagues Cup. That part sucked. But still, getting to see one of the Goats of the sport up close, even later in his career, was a treat.

In the same way, we don’t mind too much getting to see Barry Bonds deposit a Jon Lieber pitch into the 3rd deck of Citizen’s Bank Park, you have to appreciate the greatness of Lionel Messi. Even while his team rips our team apart by a final score of 4-1.

Messi got involved in the scoring. With Miami already up 1-0 in the 19th minute, Messi got a little bit of open space. And that little bit was too much to give the Goat. He snuck a ball past Andre Blake on the ground, to put his team up 2-0 early.

Jordi Alba made it 3-0 in stoppage time just before half-time. In the second half, Alejandro Bedoya would get the Union on the board in the 73rd minute. But David Ruiz got that goal back for Miami 10 minutes later.

The Union did not cover themselves in glory. Andre Blake had a rare bad game. They looked like they were playing scared from the start, and showing way too much respect for Messi. And it all showed on the field. That much is clear from the results. But embarrassing loss aside, we did still get to see Messi’s greatness in person.

So while we clean our wounds, let’s look back on what was still an exciting night for the Sport in Philadelphia:

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