Thanks to another Messi gala, Inter Miami still has its sights set on the MLS regular season title. The Vancouver Whitecaps win even without Thomas Müller.
The fact that Lionel Messi is about to extend his contract seems to be even better news for Inter Miami and MLS with every match day. On Saturday night (CEST), the 38-year-old shone once again and is well on his way to making league history once more. After the break, he countered Christian Benteke’s equalizer (52′) with a brace: first, he finished off a dream pass from Jordi Alba with a shot into the near corner (66′), then he curled the ball perfectly into the top left corner from around 17 meters (85′). United repeatedly opened up gaps in Inter’s defense, but only managed to score a consolation goal through Jacob Murrell deep into stoppage time (90+7).
In between, Mateo Silvetti had missed a penalty for the home side. The 19-year-old substitute, perfectly set up by his compatriot Messi and then fouled by goalkeeper Luis Barraza, thundered the ball against the crossbar from 11 meters out (72′). Messi had presumably left it to him because he himself had missed a Panenka penalty a week ago.
And yet, the 2022 World Cup winner moved to the top of the scoring charts with 22 goals and 12 assists. The previous leader, England’s Sam Surridge, failed to score in Nashville SC’s 3-2 defeat at Orlando City and remains on 21 goals – although he has already played 31 games, while Messi has only played 22. “La Pulga” could become the first player in MLS history to win the scoring title twice in a row.
At the same time, Inter still has every chance of winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield as the team with the most points in the regular season, as it did last year. Although coach Javier Mascherano’s team is only in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, it has played at least two games fewer than all of its rivals above it.
Müller watches Whitecaps win from afar – Galaxy lose without Reus
In the West, the Vancouver Whitecaps took second place. Without Thomas Müller, who did not travel with the team due to adductor problems, the Canadians secured a 2-0 away win at Sporting Kansas City, with both goals coming before half-time. Defending champions Los Angeles Galaxy, who have long been bottom of the table and have no chance of making the playoffs, lost 3-2 to FC Cincinnati without Marco Reus, who is still injured.
