Sports Desk: The calculation was done in the previous match. This match was an opportunity for Messi, who was a shadow of himself in that match, to show himself. The Argentinian star used it wisely. Inter Miami beat Columbus Crew 3-2 on the points table with the magic of Messi. Also won the Community Shield.
Messi scored two goals in the match. He scored another goal 5 minutes after first leading the team. Luis Suarez was also on fire. The joint performance of the two ex-Barcelona stars led Miami to dominate the match.
Bangladesh time on Thursday morning in the first half, Miami could not make much of an advantage. Gerardo Martino’s disciples did not see the goal despite attacking one after another. But Miami turned around late in the first half.
Miami took the lead in the 45th minute of the match. A teammate raised the ball high in front of the D box towards Messi from their own half. The eight-time footballer of the year found the net after taking the ball from the middle of the opponent’s two players with great skill.
In the fifth minute of added time of the first half, Messi widened the gap with a free kick from far away from the D box. His curling shot once looked like it would go wide. So even while jumping, the opposing goalkeeper stopped. Meanwhile, the ball takes a great turn and finds the net. The opposing goalkeeper had nothing to do but watch.
This is Messi’s 17th goal in 17 matches this season. Also has 15 assists. Overall, it was his 19th goal of the season for Miami. And the Argentine star scored the 30th goal in his entire Miami career. And if he scores two goals, the world-winning superstar will become the first footballer in the world to become the top scorer of two different clubs.
Columbus responded with a goal early in the second half. But that didn’t last long. Suarez increased the gap after two minutes. Suarez touched his head after jumping on a long-range high pass from his teammate. This is his 18th goal in the league. Columbus reduced the gap by getting a penalty in the 61st minute.
With this victory, Martino’s team strengthened the top position in the points list of the Eastern Conference. Miami has 68 points in 32 matches with 20 wins and 8 draws. Columbus is second with 57 points after playing one less game. Third-placed Cincinnati has 56 points.
This is Miami’s first trophy in the tournament since its debut in Major League Soccer in 2020. The Community Shield is one of the two main trophies in Major League Soccer. Another is the MLS Cup. The Community Shield is awarded to the team with the most consistent overall performance across 34 regular season matches.
Miami’s opponent is Toronto next Saturday at 2 p.m. Bangladesh time.
