Messi leads Inter Miami to dominant 4-0 victory over Atlanta United
Messi opens the scoring in the 39th minute with a curling shot
FORT LAUDERDALE: Lionel Messi produced another masterclass performance, scoring twice and assisting once as Inter Miami cruised to a 4-0 win over Atlanta United in Major League Soccer (MLS) at Chase Stadium on Saturday.
Messi, who had missed Argentina's friendly against Venezuela in Miami, opened the scoring in the 39th minute with a curling shot into the top corner after a cross from Baltasar Rodriguez.
He later set up Jordi Alba’s goal in the 52nd minute with a brilliant cross-field pass and capped off the night with his second goal in the 87th minute. Luis Suarez also scored in the 61st minute.
With the performance, Messi now leads MLS with 26 goals and is tied for the league lead in assists with 18, alongside San Diego’s Anders Dreyer
Inter Miami’s win secures at least the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The team still has a chance to claim the No. 2 spot if they finish with more points than FC Cincinnati, who also have 62 points. However, the head-to-head tiebreaker favors Cincinnati if the teams end with the same point total.
The victory also served as redemption for Miami, who were eliminated by Atlanta in the first round of last season’s playoffs. Atlanta United has now lost three consecutive matches and remains winless in its last five outings.
Goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo kept a clean sheet for Inter Miami, while Atlanta’s defender Stian Gregersen left early with a hamstring injury.
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