The Argentine Lionel Messi, with a double and an assist for the Spanish Sergio Busquets, gave Inter Miami a 3-1 victory at home against Nashville this Saturday and made Argentine Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino’s team momentarily leader of the East .
Messi celebrated his sixth and seventh goal this MLS season, in six games played, and Busquets scored with a header, after a corner kick from the Argentine, his first goal with the Inter Miami shirt.
‘Tata’ Martino’s club started losing the game after receiving an own goal from Argentine Franco Negri after two minutes, but recovered with a great reaction. The Uruguayan Luis Suárez gave Messi the assist for the tie.
Inter Miami is the leader of the East with 18 points, pending the result of the New York Red Bulls in their visit to Los Angeles FC.
Inter Miami overcame the worst possible start, receiving the 0-1 goal two minutes later with an own goal from Franco Negri, who deflected a hanging ball from a corner kick and surprised his goalkeeper Drake Callender.
But the reaction of Martino’s team was practically immediate. At eleven minutes, Messi scored the tying goal after finishing a pass from Luis Suárez inside the area. The Argentine had created the danger by breaking free and encountering a great save from Panicco. The goal’s rebound reached Pistolero, who offered Messi the comfortable ball to make it 1-1.
The match opened up and there was no shortage of opportunities on both sides of the court. Messi touched the second with a shot inside the area that hit a post, while Avilés saved Nashville’s possible goal between the sticks.
Inter Miami was saved and struck five minutes before the break with a Messi-Busquets combination. The Argentine placed the cross from a corner kick and the Spaniard attacked the first post and hit a header to make the score 2-1. He ran to hug Messi to celebrate his first goal with Inter Miami.
Despite the advantage, Inter Miami went into the break with a bittersweet taste, due to the serious knee injury apparently suffered by Gómez, who left on a stretcher in tears.
Nashville tried, but Inter Miami knew how to defend its advantage and, in the 81st minute, Afonso, precisely the man who replaced Gómez, got the maximum penalty that Messi converted with a powerful cross shot to make it 3-1.
The Argentine has seven goals in MLS and two in three games in the Concacaf Champions League. Busquets scored his first goal since May 1, 2022, when he scored for Barcelona against Mallorca.
3. Inter Miami: Callender: Weygandt, Avilés, Freire, Negri; Busquets, Gressell (Bright, m.74), Ruiz; Gómez (Afonso, m.41), Messi, Suárez (Cremaschi, m.87).
1. Nashville: Panic; Bauer, MacNaughton (Maher, m.71), Lovitz; Shaffelburg, Davis (Anunga, m.77), Godoy (Loyal, m.90), Yearwood (Sejdic, m.76), Muyl; Mukhtar, Surridge.
Goals: 0-1, m.2: Negri (p.p.); 1-1, min. 11: The Messiah; 2-1, m.39: Busquets; 3-1, m.81: Messi (penalty).
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA). He showed yellow cards to Ruiz (m.27), Weygandt (m.40), of Inter Miami, and MacNaughton (m.50), of Nashville.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the tenth day of the MLS played at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale (USA) in front of nearly 21,000 spectators.