Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have one other trophy, together with home-field benefit all through the Main League Soccer playoffs.
Messi scored twice within the ultimate minutes of the primary half, goalie Drake Callender stopped a penalty kick within the 84th minute and Inter Miami beat the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew 3-2 on Wednesday evening, wrapping up the Supporters Protect given yearly to the group with the most effective regular-season file.
It was Messi’s forty sixth main trophy gained for membership or nation, extending his file for probably the most by any males’s soccer participant in historical past. And it’s the second he has gained with Inter Miami, this Supporters Protect being added to the Leagues Cup trophy the Herons claimed shortly after Messi joined the membership in 2023.
“We knew this was a bunch that might battle for this,” Messi mentioned.
Luis Suárez additionally scored for Inter Miami, which can open a best-of-three first-round playoff collection within the ultimate weekend of October. If the group wins that collection, it could have the best to host each match it performs the remainder of the season — an Jap Convention semifinal (scheduled for Nov. 23 or 24), the East ultimate (Nov. 30 or Dec. 1) and the MLS Cup ultimate on Dec. 7.
“We have now a pleasant alternative to go down in historical past … and now we take into consideration what’s coming,” Messi instructed Apple TV after the match. “We have now an excellent benefit in that we play all of the video games at dwelling, which was what we have been searching for. I feel that we’re very, very robust at dwelling.”
Additionally nonetheless inside attain for Inter Miami: the most effective MLS regular-season mark ever. Wednesday’s win pushed Inter Miami’s file to 20-4-8 this season, giving it 68 factors. If the membership wins its ultimate two matches — Saturday at Toronto and Oct. 19 at dwelling in opposition to New England — it could end with 74 factors.
New England has the single-season factors file, ending with 73 in 2021.
Messi opened the scoring within the forty fifth minute, taking a protracted move from Jordi Alba — his longtime teammate at Barcelona, the membership with which Messi gained 35 of his trophies — and splitting two defenders earlier than in some way getting the ball previous Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte for a 1-0 lead.
And about 5 minutes into first-half stoppage time, Messi struck once more on a free kick from about 30 yards out. Schulte appeared fooled, and Messi squeezed the ball between the goalie and the close to submit for a 2-0 lead.
“Dominant,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino mentioned.
Diego Rossi scored within the first minute of the second half for Columbus to chop the lead in half, nevertheless it didn’t take lengthy for Inter Miami to revive the two-goal cushion. Virtually instantly after play resumed, Schulte was upended by one in every of his personal defenders and Suarez despatched a header into an empty web for a 3-1 edge.
Juan “Cucho” Hernández’s penalty kick within the 61st minute obtained Columbus inside 3-2. However as soon as once more, the momentum didn’t final for lengthy. Rudy Camacho was despatched off for his second yellow card within the 63rd minute, which means the Crew needed to play with 10 males the remainder of the best way.
Didn’t matter. Columbus nonetheless created some massive possibilities down the stretch.
A deflected ball within the 76th minute obtained throughout the field and onto the best foot of Mohamed Farsi — however his shot was blocked by Callender, who was completely positioned to guard the lead.
Then got here extra drama, when Inter Miami was known as for its second handball contained in the field — an computerized penalty kick — of the second half. Hernández picked the left facet of the online, however Callender made the save look virtually straightforward.
That save helped end what Messi began.
It was the fifth two-goal recreation of the MLS season for Messi, who now has 17 targets in 17 league matches this season. He’s missed 15 of Inter Miami’s MLS matches in 2024, both due to commitments to Argentina’s nationwide group or the two-month absence that he wanted to get well from a badly injured ankle — an damage that occurred throughout his nation’s run to the Copa America title in July.
Inter Miami, in MLS play this season, is now 10-1-6 with Messi within the lineup.
“All year long we had many, many accidents, the place we couldn’t all be collectively … however the group was getting probably the most out of each robust recreation,” Messi mentioned.
The Crew and the LA Galaxy entered Wednesday nonetheless with a mathematical hope of passing Inter Miami within the race for the Supporters Protect, and Cincinnati was 9 factors again with 9 factors nonetheless doable.
However now, they’re all taking part in for second.
“Dec. 7 is what we wish,” Martino mentioned, referring to the date of the MLS Cup ultimate. “However this isn’t insignificant at present.”
Reporting by The Related Press.
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