FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi has lifted the Golden Boot. Inter Miami then took the lead with a header.
Messi scored the first goal Taking the lead with a diving header in the first half and scoring in the 96th minute, Inter Miami opened the Major League Soccer Playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC on Friday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference’s best-of-three first-round series.
Messi and Ian Frey assisted Inter Miami’s Taddeo Allende on his second-half record, giving Messi two chances to progress through the first round for the first time in his two-and-a-half years with the team. Game 2 will be played in Nashville on November 1st. Game 3, if necessary, will be played Nov. 8 in Fort Lauderdale.
Hany Mukhtar scored from a free kick in the 101st minute for Nashville. It was the last play of the game.
The victory marks the end of an important few days for Inter Miami. 3-year contract extension with Messi on Thursday.
MLS commissioner Don Garber, who presented Messi with the Golden Boot (a trophy awarded to the league’s top scorer) at a pre-game ceremony, said: “I don’t think anyone could have ever imagined that Leo could do so much for this club, this city and this league.”
“You know, he reset the trajectory of Major League Soccer, and we were already doing pretty well,” Garber added. “And I think it’s another gift to have three more years. Hopefully, this gift continues to give.”
Messi took the lead in the 19th minute by ducking behind the defensive line and scoring a header. Allende scores a header Messi started the play similarly in the 62nd minute with a pass to Frei on the right. Frei chipped the ball into the middle of the box and Allende made the rest look easy.
The capper deflected the ball in stoppage time and fired towards an unmarked Messi in the goalmouth. He hit it home for a 3-0 lead.
Messi was the league MVP last season and is the overwhelming choice to win the award again this year, making him only the second player in league history and the first to win the award two years in a row. Preki won the MVP award in 1997 and 2003.
Messi scored 29 goals in the regular season, five more than LAFC’s Dennis Bouanga and Nashville’s Sam Surridge. He also recorded 19 assists, and his total goal contribution of 48 was just shy of the MLS record of 49 goals set by Carlos Vela in 2019.
“You have to lean into this unique and special historical moment. You’re going to look back and say, ‘Hey, I can’t believe I was running a league where some of the greatest players in the history of the game played,'” Garber said. “Sometimes you realize when things are happening… you’re just moving on to the next thing. I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate that Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer.”
The new contract means Messi could remain at Inter Miami until his early 40s. He is still a big name in the soccer world. MLS ticket revenue has set records this year, and Inter Miami’s value has doubled by some estimates to around $1.2 billion since he joined in mid-2023, leading the league in annual jersey sales.
“I think he’s a unicorn of unicorns,” Garber said. “You know, there’s something about the way he thinks. He thinks about the game like no one else has ever done. His intensity and desire to win is what makes him the greatest player of all time. There are a lot of players who are really competitive, but he has that special sauce, this dynamic that makes him focus on doing what it takes to win games.”
Gerber also praised the way Inter Miami announced the signing of Messi. team revealed on social media A video of Messi signing the contract was played, then the camera moved to show him actually sitting on what will be the field inside the team’s new stadium near Miami International Airport. The stadium is scheduled to open next year.
“It just shows how classy and smart they are,” Garber says.
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