Playoff redemption: Inter Miami overcome Nashville SC in style | OneFootball

By Jaime Uribarri

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - There was no Round One upset this time for Inter Miami CF. Not even close.

Lionel Messi and Tadeo Allende both scored braces as the Herons crushed Nashville SC, 4-0, in the decisive Game 3 of their Best-of-3 Series.

Saturday’s statement performance at Chase Stadium gave Miami their first-ever Conference Semifinal berth in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

"I'm very grateful for these players," head coach Javier Mascherano told reporters post-match. "... [They] understood to perfection what we were playing for today: The importance of being able to put the club in a place it had never been before.

"They did a very, very good job."

Pressure lifted

With the ghosts of last year’s stunning Round One playoff exit against Atlanta United still lurking, the Herons wasted little time in putting those nightmares to bed.

Messi opened the score in the 10th minute and added a second shortly before the halftime break. Nashville threatened in the second half, only for Allende to bag a brace of his own within three minutes (73’, 76’) to ice the result.

“There was no option to lose. I’ve carried that pain of last year,” said homegrown defender Noah Allen. “I know there’s a lot of new guys, but the players that were here last year definitely carried it.

“… We’re a team of high exceptions. We’re not a team that’s a first-round exit.”

The Herons delivered beyond expectations on Saturday night, even without Luis Suárez. The legendary Uruguayan striker was suspended due to violent conduct in Miami’s 2-1 Game 2 loss last week at GEODIS Park.

“Obviously, an absence like Luis’s is felt,” said Mateo Silvetti, Suárez’s replacement in the starting XI who assisted on Messi’s second goal. “Obviously, not having a player of his class is a negative.”

Lionel Messi OWNED Nashville SC in Round One

One more for Busquets, Alba

The win gives Suárez a chance to get back into the playoff mix for the Herons, while extending the careers of fellow FC Barcelona legends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at least one more game.

Both Spanish icons announced they will retire at the end of Miami’s 2025 season.

“Today was a bit different,” Alba said in a post-match interview with Apple TV. “… It could’ve been the last game, that was a possibility. Thank God, we were able to win well. The team played very well today.

"And so, there’s another game.”

Pressure makes diamonds! Inter Miami cruise past Nashville

FC Cincinnati up next

That game will take place in two weeks at TQL Stadium, home of FC Cincinnati.

The Orange & Blue are coming off a Round One statement performance of their own, eliminating Columbus Crew to exact revenge on their painful 2023 Eastern Conference Final defeat against their Hell is Real rivals.

It all sets the stage for an epic battle between two Eastern Conference heavyweights.

“This historic moment is incredible,” Allende said of Miami's upcoming showdown with Cincy. “It’s a very big step for the club.

"We're going to take it on with good character. We're going to fight for it and we're going to go for it like we did here [tonight]."

WATCH: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami march on in MLS Cup playoffs