Category: Lionel Messi

FORT LAUDERDALE  — Luis Suárez scored 30 seconds into the match and again in the sixth minute and that was all goalkeeper Drake Callender needed as Inter Miami beat FC Cincinnati 2-0 on Saturday night to become the first team this season to clinch a spot in the playoffs. Inter Miami (17-4-5) avenged a 6-1 drubbing in Cincinnati earlier this season and moved eight points ahead of second-place Cincinnati (15-8-3) in the Eastern Conference and in the Supporters’ Shield race. Rookie defender Marcelo Weigandt picked up his first career assist and fellow rookie defender Yaniick Bright notched his...

FORT LAUDERDALE — Rookie Federico Redondo scored the first two goals of his career in the second half after assisting on a first-half score by Diego Gómez and Inter Miami posted a 3-1 victory over Toronto FC on Wednesday night. Neither team scored until Redondo fed Gómez for a goal in the 43rd minute to give Inter Miami (15-4-5) a 1-0 lead at halftime. It was the third goal for Gómez and the third assist for Redondo. Redondo’s goals came in a six-minute span. The 21-year-old midfielder used an assist from defender Julian Gressel in the 53rd minute to forge a two-goal lead and found the net...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Teenager Benjamin Cremaschi scored late in the second half to rally Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Charlotte FC on Wednesday night, extending a club-record unbeaten run on the road to eight. Inter Miami (14-3-5) maintained a two-point lead in the Supporters’ Shield race over FC Cincinnati with its fourth straight 2-1 victory despite playing all four without Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. The pair, playing for Argentina and Uruguay, respectively, in the Copa America, have accounted for 12 goals apiece and 18 assists — 13 by Messi. Inter Miami took a 1-0 lead in the 30th...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Defenders Ian Fray and Jordi Alba scored four minutes apart late in the first half and Inter Miami held on for a 2-1 victory over Nashville SC on Saturday night. Neither team scored until Fray, making his second start and appearance of the season for Inter Miami (13-3-5), took a pass from defender Julian Gressel in the 40th minute and found the net for the second time. It was the third goal of his career after making seven starts and 11 appearances last season as a rookie. Gressel’s helper was his eighth of the campaign. Alba added some insurance with a spectacular...

FORT LAUDERDALE — Ian Fray and Leo Campana each scored in the opening 22 minutes, and short-handed Inter Miami beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Wednesday night without Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. Miami (12-3-5) played without Messi, Suárez and midfielder Matías Rojas due to international duty in the Copa América. Columbus (7-3-6), the reigning MLS Cup champions, had won its last four road games. Columbus hasn’t played at Lower.com Field since May 11, a string of six straight games. Fray, in his first MLS game since July 15, 2023 due to an ACL surgery, opened the scoring in the 10th minute by...

CHESTER, Pa. — Leonardo Frugis Afonso scored a goal in stoppage time, Julian Gressel added a goal and short-handed Inter Miami beat the Philadelphia Union 2-1 Saturday night. David Ruiz, a 20-year-old midfielder, was shown his second yellow card in the 69th minute and Miami played a man down until the 84th, Tomás Avilés was shown his shown a red card, leaving Miami down two men the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez did not play (international duty) for Miami (11-3-5). The duo is tied for third in MLS with 12 goals apiece this season. Afonso, on a breakaway, beat...

By ALANIS THAMES (AP Sports Writer) FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi scored his 12th goal of the season in his last Major League Soccer match before the Copa America, and MLS-leading Inter Miami came from behind to tie St. Louis City 3-3 on Saturday night. Miami (10-3-5, 35 points) took a two-point lead atop the Eastern Conference standings and in MLS overall, ahead of second-place Cincinnati (10-3-3, 33 points), which did not play Saturday. Luis Suárez also scored his 12th goal for Inter Miami, and Jordi Alba had the tying goal in the 85th minute. Suárez and Messi are now tied for the team...

FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi was kept off the scoresheet for the second consecutive match but Inter Miami extended its unbeaten string with a 1-0 win over DC United on Saturday night. Leo Campana scored four minutes into second half stoppage time as Miami, 6-0-3 since a 4-0 loss at the New York Red Bulls on March 23, avoided a second consecutive scoreless draw. Campana, who entered the match a minute earlier, received a pass from Sergio Busquets on the right wing and converted on a shot that landed inside the left post. The win improved Eastern Conference-leading Miami to 9-2-4 with 31...

MONTREAL — Lionel Messi played the entire game despite a first-half injury scare, Benjamin Cremaschi broke a tie in the 59th minute and Inter Miami overcame an early two-goal deficit to beat Montreal 3-2 on Saturday night for its fifth consecutive Major League Soccer victory. Luis Suarez got his 11th goal of the season for Inter Miami, and Matías Rojas scored off a free kick. Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and Bryce Duke scored for Montreal (3-5-3). Inter Miami (8-2-3) extended its unbeaten streak to seven matches (5-0-2) despite Messi being held without a goal or an assist for the first time in...

FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi scored a goal and had five assists as Inter Miami trounced the New York Red Bulls with the club-record six goals on Saturday night. Messi, who earned the MLS Player of the Month Award for April, has now scored and assisted in six consecutive league matches. Luis Suárez scored a hat trick and Matias Rojas scored twice as Inter Miami got six unanswered goals to come back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime. Messi and Suárez now have a league-leading 10 goals each, helping keep Inter Miami (7-2-3, 24 points) atop the Eastern Conference. Inter Miami’s previous scoring...