Lionel Messi scored twice and set up Sergio Busquets’ brace to help Inter Miami beat Nashville 3-1 on Saturday to stay in contention. topped the MLS Eastern Conference. Miami suffered a setback in the early second minute at Chase Field when defender Franco Negri deflected in a corner kick from Daniel Lovitz. Own net. Gerardo Martino’s side have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 games and it could have been worse when Josh Ball’s shot hit the crossbar three minutes later.
But Messi had Miami equalized soon after – Diego Gomez’s deft strike set the Argentinian free and Nashville goalkeeper Elliott Panico parried a shot but Messi pulled one back after Luis Suarez passed the ball back to him. -1 at 11 minutes.
Two minutes later, Messi took advantage of some sloppiness from Nashville but his low right-footed shot went just wide of the post.
Everything Miami created was through Messi, who flicked a shot wide and then crossed for Gomez to head in, but it was saved by Panico’s feet.
Six minutes before half-time, Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets scored for the first time in Major League Soccer (MLS), curling a beautiful header at the near post into the World Cup winner’s corner.
But just before halftime, the hosts were dealt a blow when Paraguay international Gomez was stretchered off with an ankle injury, the latest in a string of injuries for Miami.
His substitute, Brazilian-born youngster Leonardo Afonso, put the ball into the back of the net, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Nashville came out strong after the break but despite dominating possession for the first 20 minutes of the first half, save for a couple of off-target long shots from German Hany Mukhtar, They have little to show for it.
With nine minutes left in the game, Alfonso was brought down by Ball in the penalty area. Messi made a free throw and Miami ended the game.
The goal was Messi’s ninth in all competitions for Miami this season.
Martino was unhappy with the way his team started so slowly.
“No matter how lucky they were with the goal, we didn’t start well in the first few minutes. They were more focused, more intense, they handled the ball better, they pressed,” he said.
“We have a lot of things that need to be corrected, but I want to do that across the entire roster. We have seven or eight players out, which is a lot in a league as strict as MLS because of roster and budget issues, ” He said.
The Heat have scored 18 points in their first 10 games, which Martino said is a good return considering the depletion of the team he plays for.
“That’s all happened to us and we still have 18 points, which is a lot more than last year at this stage and we’re looking to accumulate points now so that the second half of the year isn’t as demanding and dramatic as last year, ” he said, referring to the final ill-fated chase for a playoff spot.
In other Major League Soccer (MLS) action on Saturday, champions Columbus Crew came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw with Phil Neville’s Portland Timbers.
In the 74th minute, French full-back Steven Moreira equalized with a wonderful long-range shot.
Cincinnati, who topped last season’s regular season standings, beat Atlanta United 2-1 despite falling behind after Argentinian midfielder Thiago Almada’s beautiful curling shot in the 59th minute.
The lead lasted just three minutes as reigning MLS MVP Luciano Acosta led a Cincy counterattack and equalized over compatriot Luca Aureliano.
Acosta capped off a wild five minutes by scoring the game-winner after being picked off by DeAndre Yedlin.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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