FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi extended his historic streak to five straight multi-goal games, and Inter Miami snapped Nashville SC’s 15-match unbeaten streak with a 2-1 win on Saturday night.
Miami (11-3-5) won its fifth straight match and moved to fifth in the Supporter’s Shield standings as it aims to win the title for the second-straight season.
Messi entered Saturday’s match as the only player in Major League Soccer history with four straight multi-goal games after scoring two in Miami’s win over the New England Revolution on Wednesday.
And he wasn’t done.
Messi opened the scoring Saturday on a free kick in the 17th minute. Then after Nashville tied it early in the second half, Messi put his side back on top with a steal and score in the 62nd.
Messi now has 16 goals in 16 MLS matches this season, which is tied with Nashville’s Sam Surridge (16 goals in 21 matches) for most in the league.
“There’s not very many words,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said through an interpreter. “It’s incredible what he continues to do to break records, now every three days. He is the leader. He shows us the way to compete, and he obviously involves the rest of the players. He shows how we have to continue and how to maintain the tone that we’ve had.
“The truth is, it is a blessing — in my case at least — to be able to be with him in this time of his career.”
Nashville (12-5-5), which had won five straight entering the match, had jumped to third in the Supporter’s Shield Standings during its unbeaten streak that went back to mid-April across all competitions. It was also the longest active streak of its kind in MLS and Nashville’s best stretch in its six-season club history.
On his first goal, Messi bent a low free kick through Nashville’s wall of defenders — a spectacular kick from the nine-time Ballon d’Or winner that gave him 55 goals in 66 Inter Miami matches.
Hany Mukhtar scored the equalizer early in the second half. Andy Nájar sent a cross into the box that Mukhtar headed past Oscar Ustari to tie the match in the 49th.
Messi then scored with ease after capitalizing on a gaffe by Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis, who mistakenly made a pass directly to Messi for the go-ahead score.
Mascherano added the team has discussed how to manage its star player’s workload. The 38-year-old Messi has played 90-plus minutes in seven straight games, including four Club World Cup matches.
“How do we take him out?” Mascherano said. “We will continue to look, and the truth is we understand that at some point we’re going to have to find that space to give him a little bit of rest. We talk about it day by day. He feels fine. According to how he’s feeling at the time, if we believe that it’s time to give him a little bit of rest, we’ll do it.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
