Category: Lionel Messi

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...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are headed to the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals and it took a dramatic three-goal comeback to get there. Messi scored twice, including a penalty kick in the 84th minute, to lift Inter Miami past LAFC 3-1 on Wednesday night — good enough for a 3-2 aggregate win in the two-leg series. The Herons needed three unanswered goals to win the series and ensure that they wouldn’t lose a tiebreaker. And for Messi, the series clincher was reminiscent of how he led Argentina past France in the World Cup final in 2022. He scored two goals in...

FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi scored for the third time in four Major League Soccer matches this season, helping Inter Miami get a 1-1 tie with Toronto FC on Sunday night. It was Messi’s 40th goal across all competitions since joining Inter Miami, extending his franchise record. The goal Sunday was a left-footed volley from the top of the 18-yard box about five minutes into first-half stoppage time. The tie left Inter Miami (4-0-2) one point behind Columbus in the Eastern Conference, with one match in hand. Messi’s goal tied the match, three minutes after Federico Bernardeschi opened the...

FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi made an immediate impact for Inter Miami against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night, with what became the winning goal in a 2-1 victory that lifted the Herons into first place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference. Messi returned to the lineup and scored less than two minutes after subbing into the match early in the second half. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner took a pass from Luis Suarez on the right side of the penalty box, made a quick move and sent a right-footed shot past two defenders into the net for a 2-0 Inter Miami lead. It was Messi’s...

ATLANTA (AP) — Lionel Messi scored early and Fafà Picault scored the winner after subbing in late to rally Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday night. Picault’s first goal this season came in his second appearance with an assist from defender Jordi Alba — his second — in the 89th minute. Messi scored the equalizer in the 20th minute. It was his first goal in two starts this season. Brooks Lennon made his 200th career start and first this season and immediately had an impact in the 11th minute when he sent a crossing pass to Emmanuel Latte...

By TIM REYNOLDS FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi is heading to the Club World Cup next year. FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced Saturday night that Inter Miami will play in the tournament, something that had been long expected given Messi’s enormous popularity around the world and how the tournament already planned on some matches in South Florida. The event, which is set to be played every four years, includes 32 teams from FIFA’s six soccer confederations. Inter Miami will play in the tournament opener, scheduled for June 15, 2025 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. “I am proud to...

TORONTO (AP) — Leonardo Campana’s score in the third minute of second-half stoppage time gave Inter Miami a 1-0 victory and moved the Herons one win away from setting the MLS record for points in a season. Added: Lionel Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, came on as a reserve in the 61st minute, as did fellow would-be starter Sergio Busquets. Also out of the starting 11 for Inter Miami on Saturday were Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and goalkeeper Drake Callender. Added: Suarez came on in the 71st minute and lobbed a beautiful pass from the left wing to Campana, who drilled a one-hopper into...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have another trophy, along with home-field advantage throughout the Major League Soccer playoffs. Messi scored twice in the final minutes of the first half, goalie Drake Callender stopped a penalty kick in the 84th minute and Inter Miami beat the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew 3-2 on Wednesday night, wrapping up the Supporters Shield — given annually to the team with the best regular-season record. It was Messi’s 46th major trophy won for club or country, extending his record for the most by any men’s soccer player in history. And...

By PAUL NEWBERRY ATLANTA (AP) — Alexey Miranchuk scored on a booming shot in the 84th minute to give Atlanta United a 2-2 tie with MLS-leading Inter Miami, which brought on Lionel Messi as a substitute Wednesday night looking to move a step closer to the Supporters’ Shield. After making a triumphant return to the Miami lineup with two goals and an assist last weekend, Messi started this game on the bench. Coach Gerardo Martino wanted to manage the minutes of his 37-year-old star, who is coming back from an injury with the club in the midst of a busy stretch. Messi trotted on in the 61st,...