Did Messi guarantee comeback to Vancouver Cristiano Ronaldo fan? | OneFootball

There was a lot to take in from Lionel Messi and Inter Miami's 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps in Leg 1 of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals on Thursday night.

But one of the most interesting moments came in the immediate aftermath of the contest in a sequence that was caught on camera by fans at BC Place, but not shown on the match broadcast.

During the sequence, a Vancouver fan near the team tunnel is, let's say, giving Messi the business by waving the back of a Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal jersey in the direction of the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Messi appeared to acknowledge the fan as he walked off the pitch toward the team dressing rooms. Then he pointed to his eye, and then above at the scoreboard, in a gesture that appeared to suggest a promise to reverse the aggregate deficit in Leg 2 in Miami next Wednesday.

What are the chances?

Perhaps Messi was being serious. Perhaps he was just venting. The bigger question is, can he and his Herons teammates pull it off?

With a roster that might be the richest collection of talent ever assembled in MLS, anything is possible. But Sebastian Berhalter's second goal is what will make the job much more difficult.

While the UEFA Champions League has eliminated the away goals tiebreaker, it still applies in the Concacaf Champions League in the first 180 minutes of the tie (But not if Leg 2 requires extra time.)

That means Vancouver can lose by two goals and still advance if they score at least one goal. And if the Whitecaps lose 2-0 in the second leg, they'd still have extra time and potentially penalties to play for their survival.

Miami has four two-goal victories so far in Concacaf play, but two of those came against the overmatched Cavalier FC of Jamaica. The other two finished 3-1 in South Florida against Sporting Kansas City and LAFC, a score that would see the Whitecaps advance should it be repeated next Wednesday.

Vancouver has also advanced via away goals in its two previous rounds of the competition, earning two 2-2 draws in Mexico at CF Monterrey and Pumas UNAM, following 1-1 results at home.