COLUMBUS.- Lionel Messi and the Inter Miami They got another trophy, plus home-field advantage in the MLS playoffs.
The Argentine star scored twice in the final minutes of the first half, goalkeeper Drake Callender saved a penalty in the 84th and Inter Miami defeated the Columbus Crew, the reigning MLS champion, 3-2 on Wednesday.
The Herons thus won the Supporters’ Shield, a trophy awarded each year to the team with the most points in the MLS regular season.
“Happy for this group, the truth is that… we knew it was a group to fight this and we took charge from the beginning, because we have the players to do it,” Messi said in statements to TV. “Happy to achieve the first goal and now think about what’s to come.”
This is the 46th trophy obtained by Messi with clubs or with his national team. He thus expanded the record in the history of men’s soccer.
And it is the second trophy obtained by the South American star with the American club. It adds to the Leagues Cup that Miami won in 2023, shortly after Messi’s arrival.
Uruguayan Luis Suárez scored the other goal for Inter Miami, which will open the playoffs at home during the last weekend of October, to begin a first-round series, best of three games. If the team wins that series, it will be able to be home in every game it plays in the rest of the season—an Eastern Conference semifinal (scheduled for November 23 or 24), the Eastern final (November 30 or December) and the MLS final (December 7).
“We have a great advantage, that we play our home games, which is what we were looking for,” Messi said.
The record for most points in league history is still within reach of Miami. Wednesday’s victory put him at 68 points.
“The record is secondary, although we have a nice opportunity to go down in history in that too. I think it’s the least important thing, the first objective has been achieved,” Messi considered.
If the club wins its final two games — Saturday in Toronto and Oct. 19 hosting New England — it would finish with 74 points.
New England holds the mark, with 73 points in 2021.
This is how the match developed
Messi opened the scoring in the 46th minute, when he took advantage of a long pass from Jordi Alba, his teammate for years with Barcelona. The Argentine obtained 35 of his trophies with the Catalan entity.
After controlling the ball, the star eluded two defenders and managed to send his shot away from the reach of goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, making it 1-0.
And in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, Messi scored again, with a free kick from about 30 meters away. The shot at the near post left Schulte confused and the score became 2-0.
Uruguayan Diego Rossi scored in the first minute of the second half for Columbus, to bring it closer. But immediately after the action resumed, Schulte collided with a defender, fell flat on his face and dropped the ball, giving the ball to Suárez, who headed into the empty goal.
A penalty converted by Colombian Juan “Cucho” Hernández in the 61st minute brought Columbus within 3-2. But again, the Crew’s hopes were short-lived.
Frenchman Rudy Camacho received his second yellow card in the 63rd minute and the hosts had to play with 10 men for the rest of the match. The penalty saved by Callender put ice on the result.
Messi has accumulated 17 goals in the same number of games this league season. He has missed 15 duels with Inter Miami in 2024, either due to injuries or due to being called up to the Argentina national team.
He was absent for two months to recover from the spectacular ankle injury, suffered in the final of the Copa América, which Argentina won against Colombia in July.