Messi bags a brace as Inter Miami reach Eastern Conference semi-finals | OneFootball

Leo was unstoppable in the 4-0 victory against Nashville. In the next stage, they will face FC Cincinnati, away.

Inter Miami mercilessly thrashed and continues in the MLS Cup Playoffs! With a brilliant and simply unstoppable Lionel Messi in their ranks, they dominated and wiped Nashville SC off the map at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, for Game 3 of the First Round of the Playoffs on the road to the MLS Cup. Javier Mascherano's team won, impressed, and thrashed, with a spectacular offensive display. Inter Miami secured their spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals led by the best of all, Lionel Messi.

In the absence of Suárez, suspended by the MLS, Mascherano sent Mateo Silvetti onto the field in his place, and the young Argentine delivered, maintaining his great form shown in the U-20 World Cup, with an assist and a very solid performance overall…

The game opened up when Messi, more astute than anyone, took advantage of a mistake in a pass from a Nashville player and, with pure speed and control, took it to the edge of the penalty area to finish with a shot across the goal, close to the post, leaving Joe Willis as a mere spectator of another masterpiece by Leo. The IMCF fans went wild with joy and relief.

And just a few minutes later, he continued his show: a spectacular nutmeg on Edvard Tagseth, who, laughing, couldn't believe the move LM10 had pulled on him. A good deep pass from Jordi Alba to Silvetti, who with a brilliant back pass set up Leo to push it in past a committed Willis, who despite his dive couldn't prevent it from ending up in the back of the net.

IMCF went into the break with a deserved lead, which they not only maintained but extended, leaving no doubt about the result, which reached 4-0, though it initially seemed challenging. The home team started somewhat sluggishly but gradually woke up as the minutes passed. A positive sign came when Leo pulled off another fancy move: another nutmeg, same victim, Edvard Tagseth.

Mascherano's team began to tilt the field and took advantage of the defensive struggles of a Nashville team that was already committed to attack. Allende appeared twice, once as a classic number nine to tap it in, and the other after a pass from Leo to chip it over the goalkeeper, sealing the final 4-0 for Inter Miami.

The offense wasn't the only unit that functioned perfectly. The spotlight was elsewhere, but Ríos Novo responded well whenever challenged and managed to keep a clean sheet, something very costly throughout the season.

There's more Inter Miami in the Playoffs, more Alba and Busquets (who will bid farewell when this season ends). The next step towards the MLS Cup dream will be FC Cincinnati, away, on Saturday the 23rd or Sunday the 24th.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.