Lionel Messi has claimed yet another trophy for his already-full cabinet.
A sweetly taken brace from the Argentinian helped see Inter Miami past Columbus Crew in a thrilling 3-2 match at Lower.com field. It is Inter Miami’s second trophy in club history, and Messi’s fourty-sixth trophy in his career.
Messi started the scoring in the 45th minute with a close-range finish. Five minutes later, Messi did what he does best: score from a free-kick 30 yards out. Diego Rossi struck back for the Crew quickly after the second-half kickoff, scoring with a sweet left-foot finish after a lucky deflection from a clearance. Luis Suarez added insurance for Inter Miami to make it 3-1 before Juan Hernandez scored from the penalty for the Crew to make it 3-2. In the 86th minute, Inter hearts were in their mouths when the referee pointed to the spot for a Crew penalty following a handball inside the box. Inter Miami goalkeeper Drew Callender stood strong and made himself the hero, saving the penalty and ensuring an Inter victory.
Messi took to Instagram after the game to say in a post “First goal accomplished. Very proud of this team, we move forward with the desire to achieve more things together!!”
For Inter Miami, their second club trophy comes as expectations were already set high for this team. The relentless recruitment of some of the world’s biggest stars has solidified them as one of the best teams in the country. Now, they have won one of two trophies that they are favorites to win this season, a stark difference from the team that has a losing record since their 2020 inception, and still has not advanced past the first round of the playoffs. However, the odds are ever in their favor, and a victory against their presumptive MLS Cup rival in Columbus Crew will surely give them a lift heading into the MLS playoffs.
