Fort Lauderdale, Florida — Lionel MessiFirst-half brace gives Inter Miami 4-0 win Nashville SC to advance to Chase Stadium on Saturday of MLS Playoffs for the first time in club history.
Tadeo Allende secured the win with a quick double of his own at the end of the second half, with Messi providing an assist in the second half.
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With the win, Miami won the Round 1 series 2–1 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals and a No. 2 seed. fc cincinnati,
“I thought the team played almost well,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “I’m not saying it’s perfect, there are always things to improve, but we were at a very high level in every area, very intense from the first minute, very organized and very good at applying high pressure.
“The truth is, I’m very grateful to these players because we completely understood what was at stake today, the importance of being able to get the club to a place and a stage that it has never been on before, and they did a really great job.”
Inter Miami entered the game without a loss Luis SuarezWho watched from the sidelines after receiving a one-game suspension from the MLS Disciplinary Committee for violent conduct in Game 2 of the series last week.
Despite the absence of an experienced striker, Inter Miami took an early lead in the 10th minute when Messi took possession of the ball in the final third and fired a shot into the bottom-right corner of the goal.
After this, Messi doubled the score at the end of the second half with the help of matteo silvettiThe player whom Mascherano selected to replace Suárez in the starting 11. For 19-year-old Silvetti, who hails from Messi’s hometown of Rosario, Argentina, it was an extra special moment.
“Maybe no one realizes it right now, but tomorrow, it will hit me [that I assisted Messi for a goal],” Silvetti said. “It’s already an honor to share day-to-day with Messi, to spend moments, to share the field and to add minutes with him and all my other teammates.”
Miami continued to dominate as the game progressed and Allende scored two goals in a span of five minutes to seal a ticket to the next round.
Despite Nashville’s 11 shots on goal throughout the match, the goaltender Rocco Rios Novo Maintained the team’s first clean sheet in the 2025 postseason.
Messi finished the three-match series with five goals after winning the Golden Boot during the regular season. He has 12 goals in just seven career matches against Nashville, the most against any MLS opponent since his arrival in July 2023.
Miami, formerly the No. 3 seed in the East, is now set to face fc cincinnati at TQL Stadium in Ohio for the one-game Eastern Conference Semifinals. Inter Miami had previously failed to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs in 2022 and 2024, falling at the opening hurdle.
In 2024, Messi’s first full season with the club, Miami were eliminated in a three-match preliminary round series against Atalanta after winning the Supporters’ Shield.
Mascherano admitted that the scars of last year’s failure were looming over the team as it faced another Game 3.
“I’m really happy because I think the team has always given their all throughout the season, with their mistakes and their strengths,” he said. “We had some very, very good stretches during the regular season and also in other competitions. And it would have been very unfair to go out at this stage.
“I’m also happy for the club because there was a bit of emotion in the air after what happened last year, and you could feel that it could happen again. I think there’s nothing better than looking forward now; all that is in the past, forgotten, and being able to look forward. I’m not one to show off too much, nor am I one to go from one end to the other. That’s what we continue to do.”
Saturday’s victory ensured at least one more game in the career of Messi’s long-time teammates Jordi Alba And sergio busquetsWho have announced that they will retire at the end of the season.
Inter Miami-Cincinnati winner will play top seed philadelphia union or fifth seed New York City FC In the pre-final.
Information from the Associated Press and ESPN Research was used in this report.
