Scarves and Spikes Newsletter: The U.S. Open Cup Final is set, Messi goes at Garber in last night’s cup matches

Good morning, y’all! Jackson here with a Thursday edition of the Scarves and Spikes daily newsletter.

I’ll start with words that will bring a smile to the face of any Atlanta United fan: Josef Martinez scored against Orlando. The new Columbus Crew striker found the ball at his feet in the 9th minute of the U.S. Open Cup semifinal and made no mistake in front of goal to put his side up 1-0. The Crew managed to overcome the in-form Orlando side to book their spot in the Final, which will be hosted by Columbus. On the other side, St. Louis was lethal on the road in Colorado, punching their ticket with a 3-0 victory with three different goalscorers against the Rapids.

The U.S. Open Cup Final is now set, with the Columbus Crew hosting St. Louis CITY on Wednesday, October 21st, to decide the 111th champion of the historic tournament.

Messi and his Inter Miami side lifted another trophy last night as well, defeating Cruz Azul 2-0 in the Campeones Cup for the first hardware lift at Nu Stadium. Messi seemed to have some choice words for outgoing MLS commissioner Don Garber at the postgame trophy presentation, though. No word on what exactly that was about, but that’s not stopping anyone from taking a guess!

We’ve also got your player ratings from last weekend’s scoreless draw between Atlanta United and D.C. United. The results are about what you’d expect from a 0-0 match- a whole lot of average. You can check that out in the link below.


Top Story

Atlanta United at D.C. United: Staff, community player ratings after a 0-0 draw

Hereโ€™s how the player ratings shook out from Atlantaโ€™s 0-0 draw in D.C. last weekend.

Read the full story โ†’


Games to Watch

La Liga

  • Betis v Getafe, 1:00 PM ET
  • Mรกlaga v Villarreal, 3:30 PM ET

Europa League

  • Levski Sofia v RB Salzburg, 12:45 PM ET
  • OFI Crete v Hoffenheim, 12:45 PM ET
  • Besiktas v Marseille, 3:00 PM ET
  • Celtic v Ferencvaros, 3:00 PM ET
  • C Palace v Lech Poznan, 3:00 PM ET
  • Juventus v NEC, 3:00 PM ET
  • Lillestrom v Torreense, 3:00 PM ET
  • Real Sociedad v Bournemouth, 3:00 PM ET
  • Viktoria Plzen v Union SG, 3:00 PM ET

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That’s your rundown for today. Have a good one out there!

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