Lionel Messi gave a masterclass on Sunday night when he scored one goal and set up three more as Inter Miami beat FC Cincinnati 4-0 at TQL Stadium. This was the first time in the club’s history that they made it to the Eastern Conference final.
Messi took charge of the game early on in front of a crowd of 25,513 people. The Miami captain scored the first goal in the 19th minute, heading in a perfect pass from Mateo Silvetti to quiet the Cincinnati fans and give his team the lead.
Messi became the provider just a few minutes later. Silvetti got free on the left side of the penalty area after a smooth pass exchange. The 19-year-old blasted a low shot into the bottom-right corner to make it 2–0 for Miami.
Allende Scores Twice as Messi breaks MLS Playoff Record
Tadeo Allende scored two more goals in the second half, one in the 62nd minute and another in the 74th minute. Both were set up by Messi, who was making Miami’s lead even bigger. Allende’s two goals finished off a strong performance that showed off Miami’s firepower and the team’s growing confidence in knockout play.
Messi set a new MLS playoff record with 12 goal contributions (6 goals and 6 assists) in a single postseason. This shows how important he is to Miami as their main player.
Suárez is back, and Miami makes up for its problems in the regular season.
Luis Suárez, who was suspended for Miami’s Round One win over Nashville, came on as a substitute in the second half to finish the game.
Miami couldn’t beat Cincinnati in the regular season. They lost 3-0 on the road and drew 0-0 at home, missing both Jordi Alba and Messi in the second game. But head coach Javier Mascherano kept saying all week that Miami was ready, and his team proved him right with their best performance of the playoffs.
Miami will play NYCFC in the conference final.
Inter Miami will play New York City FC in the Eastern Conference final at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on November 29. New York City FC beat the Philadelphia Union later that night.
Cincinnati, who won the Supporters’ Shield last year and is the second-best team in MLS this year, ended their playoff run earlier than expected. They couldn’t make it back to the conference final after losing to Columbus last year.
Miami is just one win away from the MLS Cup final, and Messi is playing at his best right now.
