5 keys to Vancouver's 2-0 Concacaf Leg 1 victory over Messi, Inter Miami | OneFootball

The Vancouver Whitecaps earned an ideal result in Leg 1 of their Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal on Thursday night, completing a 2-0 victory over Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and the rest of a more-or-less full-strength Inter Miami at BC Place.

Brian White gave the Canadian hosts a deserved advantage after 24 minutes, and Sebastian Berhalter provided what may prove to be the knockout blow in the 85th. That sealed the first multi-goal victory by an MLS team against a Miami side with Messi in the starting lineup since Atlanta won 3-1 in the league at Miami in May of 2024.

The semifinal is not yet decided. But because Miami was unable to score an away goal, the Herons will need a 2-0 win in Leg 2 just to force extra time, or a three-goal victory to advance outright. The Whitecaps will advance from any loss by two or less if they score, or a draw or win.

Here's 35keys to Vancouver's Leg 1 triumph:

Embracing the low block

There were plenty of moments when Miami was the clear aggressor in terms of ball possession and field position, but that was at least partly by Vancouver's design.

Perhaps after watching the tape of LAFC's 1-0 victory over the Herons in Leg 1 of the quarterfinals, Vancouver appeared plenty content to let Miami have 69% of the ball, according to FotMob, but still finish equal on shots (9-9) and lead in efforts on frame (5-2).

The reality is this wasn't a winning strategy last year when Tata Martino coached the Herons. Instead, the teams that experienced success against Miami were generally the ones that pressed higher up the field.

But perhaps new Miami manager Javier Mascherano's deeper lying approach has opened up more opportunities for teams willing to play the low block in exchange for more defensive solidity.

Service at the six

Oscar Ustari has supplanted Drake Callender as Mascherano's No. 1 goalkeeper. And while Ustari has more experience, and possibly better organizational skills as a Spanish speaker to a roster of mostly Spanish speakers, he does lag behind Callender in one obvious area: Providing an imposing presence on crosses.

All night long, Vancouver was unafraid to serve balls to the six-yard box and make Ustari make a tough choice of whether to try and collect or not.

It's not that Ustari made the wrong decision on any particular cross. But his presence still appeared to provide Vancouver the bravery to keep at it. And notably, both goals ultimately resulted from balls served in just above the six-yard box.

Proactive substitutions

Manager Jesper Sorensen knew his side also had superior athleticism it could exploit against one of the oldest cores in MLS. And he proved unafraid of utilizing it by making two attack-minded substitutions by the 62nd minute.

In particular, his decision to start with Daniel Rios on the field and bring on Emmanuel Sabbi at halftime looked like a planned maneuver to maximize Vancouver's verticality at a time of the match when Miami might be losing its legs.

Pedro Vite's passing

The Ecuadorian is one of several young Whitecaps having a breakout campaign for Sorensen's group, and Thursday's 82-minute shift might have been his best in a Vancouver jersey.

Vite led all players -- yes, including Messi -- with four key passes, according to MLSsoccer.com, including the absolutely gorgeous first-touch ball over the top that set up White's opening goal.

The Berhalter-Nelson connection

Sebastian Berhalter and Jayden Nelson have been two more early-20-somethings to make major strides this season, and they ultimately connected on Vancouver's second.

Nelson hadn't played in more than a month because of a hamstring issue but was able to spell Vite for the final eight minutes of the contest. Berhalter gave a man-of-the-match-worthy effort, completed when he arrived as the late runner to smash Nelson's rolling cross into the net.

The duo have been among Vancouver's leaders in chance creation this season, and that euphoric BC Place moment showed the region what they're capable of when they're both healthy.