With a brace from Leo Messi and another fine goal from Luis Suarez, Inter Miami defeated Columbus Crew 3-2 this Wednesday at Lower.com Field and thus won the Supporters’ Shield as the best team of the MLS regular season.
This is the second title in the history of the pink-black club after winning the Leagues Cup last season and the 46th for Messi, who increases his list of achievements as the most successful footballer in history.
In this way, the Miami team with 68 points secured first place in the Eastern Conference, with two games remaining, and becomes the top candidate to win the upcoming playoffs, where they will begin by facing the winner of the play-in. “I am very happy for this group,” Messi said after the game.
“We knew at the start of the year that this was a group that was going to fight for this.”
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Columbus was a worthy rival and deserved the draw, but Inter Miami showed their craft and with goals from Messi and Suarez they sealed the match.
Messi scored the first in the 45th minute and the second in the 45’+5′, taking his total to 17 goals this season, while Suarez scored the goal in the 48th minute that ultimately proved decisive in taking his total to 18 goals.
It was certainly a very exciting match, with a lot of quality and a great dispute between the two best teams in the MLS, with permission from the Galaxy.
“I’m happy to have achieved the first objective and I’m thinking about what’s next,” Messi said.
“We have the good advantage of playing all our games at home, which is what we were looking for. We are very strong at home.”
Coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino, without his usual center-backs, planned a 5-3-2 that did not generate much football but did get the result, which in the end is what matters.
He placed Drake Callender; Chelo Weigandt, Sergio Busquets, Noah Allen, Jordi Alba, Fede Redondo, Janick Wright, Diego Gomez, Messi and Suarez.
The first half ended 2-0 in favor of Miami with two goals from Messi that tipped the balance in a very even 45 minutes in all aspects, even with one goal disallowed for each side.
After a great battle on both sides of the field and when it seemed that they were going to go to the break with a 0-0 tie on the scoreboard, the Argentine genius rubbed the lamp and in the same minute 45 he opened the scoring.
Leo lowered a long pass from Alba between the two center-backs and after making the change he collected the rebound from one of them to barely stand before the Crew goalkeeper, whom he beat with a masterful left-footed deflection from the center of the area so that the ball entered near the left post with the score 1-0 in favor of his club.
The referee added five minutes and in the last of them, Suarez was fouled from behind a few meters outside the area, slightly to the left.
Messi stood next to the ball and drew a free kick just outside the wall that went in just inside the near post to make it 2-0 just before the break.
Barely 25 seconds had passed when Rossi found a nice ball in the area on a rebound, then placed it in the corner and cut the difference to 2-1.
But Inter Miami quickly recovered and two minutes later, at 48′, Fray sent a long pass to Suárez in the Columbus area and, fortunately for Miami, the center-back collided with the goalkeeper and the ball fell to the Pistolero, who headed into an empty net to make it 3-1.
But the game was far from over. The Crew, backed by their home crowd, went all out against Inter Miami and made the most of it in the 60th minute when Allen handled a ball in his area that seemed to have been lost along the goal line.
Camilo “Cucho” Hernandez did not forgive from the 11 meters and deceived Callender to bring the Crew closer again 3-2.
Shortly after (63′) Rudy Camacho received his second yellow card and Columbus was left with 10 men, but with that, they did not stop attacking and trapped their rival in their area, and in one of those they received another penalty when Fray touched a cross from the left with his hand.
Cucho repeated the move, but this time Callender guessed his right-footed shot and with a good save denied him the equalizer.
Martino made some changes and the Miami team dug in until the final whistle, but not before giving them a gift in the form of a dribble from the best player of the match Lionel Messi.
