Brilliant Messi helps Miami win big before CWC

Lionel Messi scored for the 5th clip successful 3 Major League Soccer matches to assistance Inter Miami rout the Columbus Crew 5-1 connected Saturday night.

Messi played a relation each of Miami's goals. He scored doubly -- successful the 15th and 24th minutes -- giving him 10 goals this season, which leads his squad and is tied for 3rd successful MLS. He acceptable up Tadeo Allende's extremity successful the 13th, Fafà Picault's successful the 89th and was besides progressive successful Luis Suárez's people successful the 64th.

That makes it 2 consecutive matches that the eight-time Ballon d'Or victor has recorded astatine slightest 2 goals and an assist. His 15 extremity contributions are the astir successful the league.

Miami was the much assertive squad early. The Herons had 7 shots -- 4 connected extremity -- successful the archetypal 25 minutes against a Columbus squad that does not springiness up many. The Crew entered Saturday ranked eighth successful MLS with conscionable 19 goals allowed.

Allende opened the scoring with a cross-body decorativeness acceptable up by Messi's agelong shot implicit the top. A fewer minutes later, Messi took vantage of a mediocre determination by goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen and lofted the shot implicit contempt the keeper getting a manus connected it.

On Messi's 2nd goal, Sergio Busquets acceptable up his erstwhile Barcelona teammate for the 2nd consecutive game, sending a agelong walk to a streaking Messi for the decorativeness implicit Hagen.

It was an important triumph for Miami, which entered Saturday with conscionable 2 wins successful its past 8 matches and was sixth successful the Eastern Conference. Miami bushed Montreal 4-2 connected Wednesday, and Saturday's triumph implicit Columbus enactment past year's Supporters' Shield victor successful 3rd spot with 29 points successful their last lucifer earlier the commencement of adjacent month's Club World Cup.

Miami volition look Al Ahly of Egypt connected June 14 astatine Hard Rock Stadium, the location stadium of the NFL's Miami Dolphins. Before that, Messi volition articulation the Argentina nationalist squad for World Cup qualifiers against Chile connected June 5 and Colombia connected June 10.

Saturday was the 2nd lucifer of the play betwixt Columbus and Miami, winners of the past 2 League's Cup tournaments. Inter Miami besides bushed Columbus to triumph the Supporters' Shield successful 2024.

They were the lone remaining undefeated teams successful MLS erstwhile they met successful beforehand of a grounds assemblage of 60,614 fans to Huntington Bank Field connected April 19. It was a single-game grounds for a Crew location lucifer and the largest non-NFL lawsuit successful stadium history. Miami won 1-0.

Columbus made it 3-1 erstwhile Dylan Chambost's country was headed location by Cesar Ruvalcaba against goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo, who replaced Oscar Ustari successful the 2nd half. Suárez restored Miami's three-goal pb with his 2nd extremity successful arsenic galore matches.

Messi fed a done shot to Picault successful the closing minutes, stamping 1 of Miami's astir ascendant wins of the MLS season.

Miami played without seasoned near backmost Jordi Alba, who suffered a lower-body wounded against Montreal connected Wednesday.