Category: Lionel Messi

FORT LAUDERDALE — The final act, the one everyone came to see, had Lionel Messi carrying the trophy over to his Inter Miami teammates late Saturday afternoon. This is how he’s done it everywhere he’s been, the captain and a trophy, and now he did at Chase Stadium. “Mes-si!” the crowd chanted. The trophy looked nearly as big as Messi as he walked on the makeshift stage amid his teammates. But there, in that moment, as he held the Major League Soccer championship trophy aloft, as confetti dropped and fireworks flew, Messi didn’t look like the league’s marketing machine or the world’s most...

By ANDRES JAIME-MENDEZ FORT LAUDERDALE — The Chicago Fire jumped out to an early two-goal lead and withstood a furious second-half comeback try led by Luis Suárez in a 5-3 win over Inter Miami on Tuesday night. With the victory, Chicago (15-6-11) secured its first playoff berth since 2017 and improved to eighth in the MLS standings. Lionel Messi was held scoreless for the second straight game as Inter Miami, which has already clinched a playoff spot, slipped to 16-8-7. The loss hurt Inter Miami’s hopes of winning the Supporters’ Shield. The Philadelphia Union can secure the regular-season...

By ANDRES JAIME-MENDEZ FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi had a goal and an assist as Inter Miami beat Seattle 3-1 on Tuesday night just over two weeks after losing to the Sounders in the Leagues Cup final. The Sounders beat Inter Miami 3-0 in the Leagues Cup on Aug. 31, but Messi assisted a wide open Jordi Alba with an outside-of-the-foot pass in the 12th minute to give the Herons early command. Messi nearly doubled the score in the 28th minute when he received a ball over the top and once again tried to execute using the outside of his left foot, but the shot hit off the post. Alba returned...

MIAMI GARDENS — Inter Miami, coming off an upset win against Portuguese club Porto, is not ready to go back to playing its MLS schedule. Miami secured a spot in the Club World Cup knockout round with a 2-2 draw against Brazilian club Palmeiras at the Club World Cup at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night. With the draw, Inter Miami finished second in the group and will play French powerhouse and reigning Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain — Lionel Messi’s former club — in Atlanta on Saturday. Tadeo Allende got the ball from Luis Suarez and got behind the Palmeiras defense, breaking...

By ALANIS THAMES FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Inter Miami was in a midseason slump just a week ago. Lionel Messi made sure it didn’t last long. Messi scored for the fifth time in three Major League Soccer matches to help Inter Miami rout the Columbus Crew 5-1 on Saturday night for its second straight win. Messi played a role each of Miami’s goals. He scored twice — in the 15th and 24th minutes — giving him 10 goals this season, which leads his team and is tied for third in MLS. He set up Tadeo Allende’s goal in the 13th, Fafà Picault’s in the 89th and was also involved in Luis Suarez’s...

FORT LAUDERDALE — Luis Muriel scored a goal just before halftime, Marco Pašali? added a goal early in the second half and Orlando City beat Inter Miami 3-0 on Sunday night in the Florida Derby to extend its unbeaten streak to 11 consecutive games. Orlando City (6-2-6) has not lost since it dropped a 2-1 decision to New York City FC on March 8. Pedro Gallese finished with four saves for his sixth shutout of the season and had the second assist of his five-plus year career in MLS. Luis Muriel opened the scoring in the 43rd minute. Gallese played a perfectly-placed ball ahead from the edge of...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Inter Miami lost its first MLS game of the season Sunday with Lionel Messi watching from a private box as FC Dallas scored three unanswered goals in the second half for a 4-3 victory. Inter Miami squandered a two-goal advantage and slipped to 5-1-3, with 18 points. Inter Miami lost at Vancouver in the first leg of its CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal round on Thursday. Messi played all 90 minutes of Miami’s 2-0 loss. With the teams playing the second leg in Miami on Wednesday, the 37-year-old Messi playing Sunday seemed unlikely. Pedrinho scored the go-ahead...

By JOE REEDY CLEVELAND (AP) — Benjamin Cremaschi scored on a diving header in the 30th minute and Inter Miami beat the Columbus Crew 1-0 on Saturday. The matchup between the lone remaining undefeated teams in Major League Soccer drew 60,614 fans to Huntington Bank Field, a single-game record for a Crew home match and the largest non-NFL event in stadium history. The match was moved from Columbus to the home of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns due to the popularity of Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi. It is the second time this season and ninth since Messi joined MLS in 2023 that Inter Miami has...

CHICAGO (AP) — Lionel Messi missed on four chances but Inter Miami remained unbeaten after Sunday’s scoreless draw against the Chicago Fire. Messi earned a free kick in the 62nd minute but his try struck the crossbar. Another free kick 13 minutes later went a foot above the upper corner. A free kick in the 86th minute grazed the far corner. Messi did not play because of injuries the past two times Inter Miami visited Chicago, but Sunday’s match drew 62,358 fans, many of them clad in the visiting club’s pink home tops. It’s the largest home crowd in Fire history. Chicago (3-2-3) goalkeeper...