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As he helped his Inter Miami team win their first championship, Lionel Messi dubbed the “best in the world” scored his 10th goal in seven games.
In the Leagues Cup final, the 36-year-old Argentinean gave Miami the lead over Nashville SC by firing into the top corner from outside the penalty area.
In the second half, Fafa Picault equalized to force overtime and penalties.
Drake Callender turned back Elliot Panicco’s penalty shot for Nashville, giving Miami the 10-9 victory that ended the shootout.
Before World Cup-winning forward Messi and former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets arrived in Miami last month, Miami had the worst record in Major League Soccer this season.
They have now gone seven games without a loss as they pursue the Leagues Cup, a competition between MLS and Liga MX teams from Mexico.
Since the club’s founding in 2020, it was its first trophy.
When they take on Cincinnati in the US Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday, they also have a chance to advance to a different final.
The former Barcelona trio, according to co-owner David Beckham, were crucial to the club’s turnaround: “It is like watching a movie; everything about these players’ play is beautiful emotionally.”
Spanish midfielder Busquets continued, “We are thrilled with the team’s rapid growth.
“We are making a solid team – and then we have Leo, who makes a difference because he’s the best in the world.”
The victory marked a seven-time Messi, the player of the competition and winner of the Ballon d’Or, now has 44 trophies under his belt, more than any other player.
Nashville went into the game with the explicit goal of limiting Busquets’ and subsequently Messi’s impact, and they were successful in making Miami play a slower style of possession football deeper in their own half.
Walker Zimmerman’s header from a Lukas MacNaughton corner forced Callender into a low save, serving as an early signal from Gary Smith’s team that they may cause Miami problems at set pieces.
Messi dropped deeper and looked for openings in the home defense as Miami probed.
However, Robert Taylor twisted and turned and hit a ferocious drive that Nashville keeper Elliot Panicco did well to keep out because Walker Zimmerman was managing the back line well.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com/Louis Gyamerah
