Messi brace fires Inter Miami past Nashville in MLS Playoffs opener | OneFootball

At Chase Stadium, Inter Miami successfully began their journey in the 2025 MLS Playoffs this Friday. The team led by Lionel Messi kicked off this stage in front of their home crowd with a 3-1 victory over Nashville SC in the first match of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Las Garzas had finished the regular stage in third place in their group, just one point away from the top. Therefore, they must face the sixth seed in a best-of-three series. It’s worth noting that if any of the games end in a draw after 90 minutes, there will be a penalty shootout to decide the point.

Right from the start, in the 19th minute of the first half, Inter Miami opened the scoring, none other than through Messi. The Rosario native played the ball wide to Luis Suárez, who sent in the cross as La Pulga ran toward the heart of the box. The Argentine national team player connected with a header and sent it into the net for the 1-0 lead.

Despite Nashville’s response, especially at the start of the second half, Mascherano’s side managed to extend their lead. In the 18th minute, Tadeo Allende made it 2-0 by connecting with a cross from Ian Fray. In added time, Messi took advantage of a blunder by his opponents to tap it in unopposed for the 3-0, while Hany Mukhtar rounded out the score with a free kick.

In this way, Inter Miami took the first game and is now just one win away from advancing to the next round, the Eastern Conference semifinals. Next weekend, they will face Nashville again, this time as visitors.

When is the second match between Inter Miami and Nashville SC?

For the second game, the venues will be switched, so it will be played at GEODIS Park. Inter Miami and Nashville will meet again next Saturday, November 1, at 8:30 p.m. Argentine time.

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