Inter Miami CF (15W-6L-7D, 52 points) defeated D.C. United 3-2 at home tonight to close out the week with a second consecutive win. A stellar performance by Royal Caribbean Icon of the Match Lionel Messi led the team to victory, with our Club captain bagging a brace and dishing out an assist. Attacker Tadeo Allende scored the team’s other goal on the night at Chase Stadium.
Additionally, with his two goals and assist tonight, Messi recorded his 16th game with at least one goal and one assist, tying Carlos Vela (16) for the second-most in a player’s first three MLS seasons and trailing only Preki (17).
Lineup Notes
Inter Miami took the pitch with Óscar Ustari in goal; Marcelo Weigandt, Gonzalo Luján, Maximiliano Falcón, and Noah Allen made up the back four; Rodrigo De Paul, Sergio Busquets and Yannick Bright started in midfield; Allende, Messi and Jordi Alba led the team in attack.
Match Action
It seemed as if the match would go into the break scoreless after an even first 45 minutes, before Allende found the breakthrough goal for Inter Miami to pull ahead in the 35th minute. A sublime line-splitting ball from Messi left Allende one on one against the opposition’s goalkeeper, where he slotted the ball at the bottom right corner for his eight goal this regular season. The assist, meanwhile, was Messi’s team-leading 12th this league campaign.
The visitors equalized early in the second half, with Christian Benteke scoring for D.C. United in the 53rd minute.
Inter Miami then nearly reclaimed its lead on two different occasions. First, Messi rattled the crossbar with a finish from inside the box in the 55th minute, before an attempt from close range from Allende was saved in the 59th minute.
Messi subsequently reestablished Inter Miami’s lead in the 66th minute, with Alba finding our Club captain on the right end of the box before he performed a quick turn and sent the ball to the back of the net with a left-footed finish to the bottom right corner. The goal took Messi’s tally to 21 this regular season, while the assist was the 10th for Alba.
Inter Miami had a penalty in its favor in the 72nd minute, but the attempt from the spot bounced off the crossbar.
Our Club captain secured his brace in the 85th minute to give Inter Miami a 3-1 lead, placing the ball in the upper left corner with a left-footed hit from the top of the box following an assist from Busquets. The goal was Messi’s 22 this regular season as he now leads the race for the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi, while the assist was Busquets’ seventh in the league this season.
Jacob Murrell scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time to shorten the deficit for D.C.
The 3-2 scoreline would then remain unchanged through the final whistle for Inter Miami to claim all three points at home.
Post-Match Reaction
“It’s a very important win because, by the end of this week, we earned the six points we needed here at home,” said head coach Javier Mascherano. “We’ve moved up in the standings, and we still have some games in hand. If we can get good results, it will allow us to climb even higher and finish near the top of the table. We all know that the first objective is to secure a playoff spot, which we’re just one win away from, and then try to finish as high as possible to have the advantage of playing at home.”
Next Match
Next, Inter Miami will hit the road to visit New York City FC this upcoming Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Stats
Possession:
MIA - 58.6%
DC - 41.4%
Shots:
MIA - 17
DC - 10
Saves:
MIA - 4
DC - 4
Corners:
MIA - 6
DC - 5
Fouls:
MIA - 11
DC - 14
