Lionel Messi scored twice as Inter Miami beat the defending Major League Soccer (MLS) champions the Columbus Crew 3-2 to clinch the Supporters’ Shield awarded for the best regular season record.
Messi had been subdued until the 45th minute when he put Inter ahead — chesting down a long ball into the box and getting a lucky bounce off Crew defender Malte Amundsen before poking home.
Minutes later, Messi made it 2-0, taking advantage of a poorly assembled wall to curl a laser-precision free-kick into the corner past the stationary Columbus keeper Patrick Schulte.
Photo: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY
Messi, who recently returned from a two-month injury absence, has now scored 17 goals and produced 15 assists in 17 matches
However, 20 seconds after the start of the second half, Columbus pulled a goal back when the ball fell to Diego Rossi just inside the box and he cleverly curled his shot into the far corner.
Straight from the restart, Columbus gifted Miami a third when Schulte raced off his line, but with defender Rudy Camacho in his way, he dropped the ball to Luis Suarez who headed into the unguarded goal.
The Crew battled back again though and made it 3-2 through a Cucho Hernandez penalty after Noah Allen handled in the box.
“I’m happy to achieve the first goal and think about what’s coming. Today was a very tough opponent. We knew it, they are the last champion, of the Leagues Cup. They are a great team,” Messi told Apple TV.
“[Although they were] down a man, we suffered until the end and that shows what this team is,” he said.
The champion of Major League Soccer is determined by the winner of the MLS Cup playoffs — where Eastern Conference rivals the Crew and Miami could meet again.
Inter Miami have 68 points with two matches remaining, ensuring they would finish the MLS campaign as the league’s best record. If they win both games, they would establish a new single-season points record.
Inter, the Eastern Conference top seeds, would have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Columbus are second in the East with Cincinnati, who lost 3-2 to New York City, in third place. Orlando, who beat Philadelphia 2-1 are fourth.
The eighth and ninth-placed teams in each conference would meet in the wild-card round. The first round of the playoffs is played on a “best of three” basis with the top four teams given two home games. The conference semi-finals and finals are single-elimination games.
Messi said the Shield was a “secondary” prize for his team and said the MLS Cup title remains the main goal for the team.
“The first round is three games, but then it’s one game and anything can happen. But we have the great advantage of playing all the games at home, which is what we were looking for. We are very strong at home,” he added.
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