Lionel Messi continues to demonstrate his worth in Major League Soccer (MLS), scoring for the fifth time in three matches and leading Inter Miami to a resounding 5-1 victory over the Columbus Crew.
The Argentine star had a direct involvement in each of Inter Miami’s goals, including two of his own in the 15th and 24th minutes, totaling 10 goals for the season, which makes him the top scorer for his team and places him in third place in MLS.
In addition to his goals, Messi assisted Tadeo Allende in the 13th minute and Fafà Picault in the 89th, and was involved in Luis Suárez’s goal in the 64th minute.This performance marks the second consecutive match in which Messi, winner of eight Ballon d’Or awards, registers at least two goals and one assist, solidifying his position as the player with the most goal contributions in the league, with a total of 15.
From the start of the match, Inter Miami showed great aggression, generating seven shots, four of them on target, in the first 25 minutes, against a Columbus team known for its defensive solidity.
Allende opened the scoring with a cross shot after a long pass from Messi. Subsequently, Messi himself took advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen to score his first goal.In his second goal, Messi received an assist from his former Barcelona teammate, Sergio Busquets, who sent him a long pass to score against Hagen.
This victory is crucial for Inter Miami, who came into the match with only two wins in their last eight encounters and was in sixth position in the Eastern Conference. After defeating Columbus Crew, the team moved up to third place with 29 points.
Inter Miami will face Al Ahly of Egypt on June 14 at Hard Rock Stadium. Before this match, Messi will join the Argentine national team for the World Cup qualifying matches against Chile on June 5 and Colombia on June 10.
This was the second matchup of the season between Columbus and Miami, both winners of the Leagues Cup in recent editions. In addition, Inter Miami defeated Columbus to win the Supporters’ Shield in 2024.
In their previous encounter on April 19th, before a record crowd of 60,614 fans at Huntington Bank Field, Inter Miami prevailed 1-0. This match set an attendance record for a Crew home game and the largest non-NFL event in the stadium’s history.Columbus managed to score with a header from Cesar Ruvalcaba after a corner by Dylan Chambost, but Suárez extended Miami’s lead again with his second goal in two matches.In the final minutes, Messi assisted Picault, sealing one of Inter Miami’s most dominant victories in the MLS season.
Inter Miami played without left-back Jordi Alba, who suffered an injury against Montreal on Wednesday.
