Lionel Messi couldn’t play, and the Houston Dynamo took full advantage to win a trophy on his home field.
Griffin Dorsey and Amine Bassi scored first-half goals and Houston — with NBA star James Harden, part of the team’s ownership group, looking on from the stands — topped Messi-less Inter Miami 2-1 on Wednesday night to win the U.S. Open Cup.
Josef Martinez scored in second-half stoppage time for Inter Miami, but it wasn’t enough as Messi could only look on from the team bench area.