Things got wild in Texas last night as a late Lionel Messi free kick sent FC Dallas and Inter Miami to penalties and eventually the Florida team went through to the quarterfinals. The game itself was… crazy.
An early Lionel Messi goal was eventually canceled out by two FC Dallas goals to take things 2-1 at halftime. The second 45 minutes saw a calamity of errors where Inter Miami went down 4-2 but would eventually tie the match 4-4, there were two own goals in the game, one for each team, and in the shootout, Inter Miami eventually claimed the match.
A total of 19,096 fans paid nearly four times the normal price to see Lionel Messi at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The crowd was mixed, many with Inter Miami and Argentina jerseys and about half the stadium supporting FC Dallas. The end result were fights after the match.
FC Dallas fans clash with Messi supporters
It is still not known if the fans who fought were Inter Miami fans or just simply Messi supporters. It’s a lesson learned for MLS who will need to rethink certain seating arrangements. Fans were mixed together at Toyota Stadium, and it marked the first instant where die hard MLS fans were not too thrilled to be overrun by one game Messi supporters.
During the match FC Dallas fans began chanting “this is our house”, when the team went up 3-1, as a protest to having to share their home field with fans who paid through the nose to see Lionel Messi in action, and most likely will not return to see FC Dallas.
After the game there were various clashes, with police having to make a few arrests. In one video a police officer was forced to pull out a taser. There is no confirmation as to how many people were arrested on Sunday night.