It was all about Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez once again as Inter Miami ran riot to seal a 3-1 win against Nashville in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 fixture, on Thursday. The win saw the hosts secure a 5-3 victory in Florida, courtesy of goals from Messi, Suarez and Robert Taylor.
Suarez opened the scoring in the eighth minute as Miami took a 1-0 early lead. Left-back Jordi Alba delivered a cheeky pass, finding Messi in a tight space, who put in a sensational through ball to the former Liverpool frontman, who converted it with ease.
15 minutes later Messi made it 2-0 after receiving a pass from Diego Gomez. The Argentine international fired it home to increase his side’s lead. Inter Miami went into half-time with a 2-0 lead which was made 3-0 in the 63rd-minute as Robert Taylor also registered his name in the scoresheet. Messi was substituted in the 50th-minute and was replaced by Taylor. Meanwhile, Sam Surridge scored a consolation goal for Miami in stoppage time.
Both sides held each other to a 2-2 draw in the first leg and the second leg turned out to be a one-sided affair. It was only after Messi’s substitution that Nashville began to show some intent and put pressure on goalkeeper Drake Callender, who pulled off a save to deny Lukas MacNaughton.
Also, Taylor’s goal snuffed out any hint of a Nashville comeback and Hany Mukhtar also had an effort disallowed for offside. Wednesday was the fourth time that Nashville faced Messi since he joined Inter Miami. They have played to three draws before Wednesday — the first of which Miami won 10-9 on penalty kicks in the 2023 Leagues Cup final. Messi scored early in regulation and converted the first shot in penalty kicks as Miami won its first trophy.
