Inter Miami 2–1 Nashville: Messi Magnificent Again in Critical Fifth Straight Win | OneFootball

Things can’t get much better for Inter Miami CF right now.

After advancing to the FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 and holding their own against Paris Saint-Germain, the Herons have returned to MLS in fine form, picking up a fifth straight win and third in eight days with a 2–1 victory against Nashville SC on Saturday.

Lionel Messi was once again the focal point, scoring a free-kick and adding the winning goal for his fifth straight brace, bringing him to 16 goals on the season and to a tie in the race for the MLS Golden Boot alongside Nashville striker Sam Surridge.

With the top of the Eastern Conference in sight, Inter Miami look ahead to upcoming games against FC Cincinnati and New York Red Bulls in the coming week.

But, before we cast our gaze to the horizon, here are three takeaways from the latest win over Nashville.

Inter Miami Continue Reliance on Messi

Messi has been an unbelievable talent through the last two decades in world soccer, but has seldom put a team on his back as much as he has for Inter Miami in recent weeks.

On Saturday, his latest brace puts him in contention to break the record for the most goals scored in a single MLS season.

“There are not many words. It’s incredible what he keeps doing, breaking records now every three days, not even every weekend,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said of the magnificent spell of form. “He is the standard-bearer of our team that shows us the way to compete. He is the leader...It’s a blessing for me to accompany this stage of his career.”

However, while his play has been outstanding of late, it could be a worrying factor for the Herons. Should the 38-year-old succumb to injury or fatigue, Miami would be without the man who has scored 36% of their goals in MLS this season. The Herons have had few other players who have shown the ability to step up with significant attacking production.

For now, though, Miami can enjoy this. It’s a record-breaking run made of dreams for the Argentine, and one they will hope can continue through the rest of the MLS regular season and into the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Proving Themselves Against a Tough Test

Beating the New England Revolution and CF Montreal since returning from the Club World Cup offered a nice boost to Inter Miami, but did little to convince the rest of the league that the Herons are truly contenders this season.

That’s not the case with the win over Nashville, who came into the match with a 15-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and have had two of the best attackers in Hany Mukhtar, who scored and Surridge, as well as MLS All Star fullback Andy Najar, who picked up his eighth assist of the campaign.

Whether reliant on Messi or a mistake from Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis, this match proved that Miami can still hang with the league’s best and put themselves in positions to get results even without a standout performance from the entire team.

The win not only gives them a convincing mark to look on in mid-July, but also brings them to third in the Eastern Conference, just five points off the Philadelphia Union for first place while also holding three games in hand on several teams around them.

For all the panic at the start of the season, Miami are well and truly back.

Luis Suárez’s Continued Struggles

Luis Suárez has scored just five goals alongside Messi up top for Inter Miami CF this season. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

As one Barcelona legend thrives, another has struggled. Luis Suárez, despite a decent showing at the Club World Cup, has not been up to the MLS standard in recent weeks and has been a shell of his former self.

Earlier in the season, Mascherano was quite committed to a key 14 players, and failed to adjust when those regulars underperformed or were fatigued. However, despite being more willing to use Miami’s depth since then, he has seldom taken any minutes away from Suárez.

After scoring 20 goals last season—tied with Messi for the team lead—the Uruguayan has scored just five times this season and has had minimal impact in the attacking buildup. Against Nashville, he created one chance but was otherwise a non-factor.

If Miami are to find further success this season, they will need another effective striker, beyond Messi, and Suárez isn’t that at this point in his career, as evidenced by Saturday’s latest example. However, it will be a tough conversation and decision for Mascherano to make, should he begin trusting the likes of Allan Obando and Fafa Picault with more minutes.

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