Inter Miami has won the Supporters’ Shield for the first time. After beating champions Columbus Crew 3-2, they are even in with a chance of breaking an MLS record. Lionel Messi excelled – especially just before half-time.
Lionel Messi has won another title, even if it’s not the most important one he’s been targeting this season. With a 3-2 away win over reigning champions Columbus Crew, Inter Miami secured the Supporters’ Shield as the best team in the regular season with two games to spare.
And Messi once again played a key role. In the 45th minute, he skillfully and somewhat luckily controlled a high pass on the edge of the box and beat Patrick Schulte in goal. In stoppage time, he sent the 2-0 behind: with his strong left foot, he curled a free kick from half-left over the wall directly into the net. The 37-year-old now has 17 goals and 15 assists after 17 games.
Inter keeper saves late penalty
Columbus scored immediately after the break through Diego Rossi (46th minute) and came back thanks to Cucho’s hand penalty (61st minute), when Luis Suarez had increased the lead to 3:1 for Inter with his 18th goal of the season (48th minute). But two scenes ultimately broke the hosts’ necks: first, Crew defender Rudy Camacho saw yellow-red shortly after the 2-3 (63), then goalie Drake Callender denied Cucho a second penalty goal (84), thereby saving Miami the three points – after previously drawing three in a row.
Columbus, who like Miami had already qualified for the play-offs, can no longer replace Inter at the top of the Eastern Conference. “We are achieving our goals, but the truth is that we are focusing on being there on December 7,” said Inter coach Gerardo Martino, referring to the MLS Cup final. “Today was just a small step.”
Messi & Co. are aiming for a points record – Reus misses 3:1 win
This, however, ensures that his team has home advantage in the play-offs, which begin on the last weekend of October in a best-of-three format. In the remaining preliminary round games against Toronto FC (A) and New England Revolution (H), at least one record is still at stake: with two wins, Miami would surpass New England’s point record from 2021 (73) by one point.
In the Western Conference, Los Angeles Galaxy are on the verge of going into the play-offs as leaders. L.A. beat the Colorado Rapids 3-1 thanks to a double from Riqui Puig after going a goal down at half-time – but without Marco Reus, who was missing through injury. Coach Greg Vanney explained that they would have to assess the former Dortmund player’s fitness on a day-to-day basis.