Lionel Messi goal not enough as Inter Miami’s miserable run continues

Lionel Messi’s superb second-half strike was not enough as Inter Miami’s hopes of regaining the MLS Supporters’ Shield were hit by a 2-2 draw against Eastern Conference leaders Nashville SC at Nu Stadium on Saturday night.

Messi scored with a trademark left-footed curling strike in the second half but Sam Surridge had the final say with a dramatic injury-time equaliser as Nashville preserved their nine-point lead at the top of the table.

Surridge had earlier given Nashville an early lead only for visiting defender Reed Baker-Whiting to glance Messi’s corner into his own net after 19 minutes.

The Argentine superstar was a constant threat and had two more chances to make it 2-1 before half-time. His first effort was blocked and the second, a free-kick from outside the area, flew just wide.

He did find the back of the net shortly after the hour mark, trading passes with Rodrigo De Paul, before placing his shot past Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake. It was Messi’s 19th goal of the season, moving him one ahead of FC Dallas’ Petar Musa in the race for the Golden Boot. 

Surridge has final say to deny Messi and Miami

Schwake kept his side in the contest, tipping Messi’s shot on to the post, before Nashville defender Jeisson Palacios produced a brilliant last-ditch headed clearance to deny him again.

And Nashville applied the sucker punch late on when Surridge tapped in after Shak Mohammed’s shot was palmed into his path by home goalkeeper Dayne St Clair.

There was still time for De Paul to hit the post but Nashville held on. The draw means Miami, who claimed the Supporters’ Shield in 2024, have won just one of the last nine games in all competitions.

Defender Facunda Mura said: “Obviously, there’s frustration – feeling like we were the better side only to have the three points snatched away in the final moments. But there’s also the feeling that the team did manage to keep possession and create scoring chances.

“We need to improve so that we don’t always have to score so many goals just to get the win; we need to feel a bit more secure at the back and stop conceding, so that the goals we do score are enough.”

Guillermo Hoyos continues to lead the side while Miami wait for a work visa for new coach Kily Gonzalez. Hoyos is likely to be in charge again for Wednesday night’s Campeones Cup clash with Mexican side Cruz Azul.

“We have great players, and we have to compete for every trophy we play for,” Mura added. “Unfortunately, things haven’t gone our way in the CONCACAF Champions Cup or the Leagues Cup. We haven’t gotten the results we wanted; we’re well aware of that. But ultimately, we’re here to keep working and keep growing.

“We’re starting a new phase with a new coach, and we all know we need to give more to help the team improve and reach a higher level – especially since we have a final coming up in just four days that we really want to win.”

Major League Soccer 2026

USA

Western Conference

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 5
1	Vancouver Whitecaps	26	15	5	6	59	26	33	50	D W L W L
2	St. Louis City	27	13	8	6	48	36	12	47	W W W D W
3	FC Dallas	27	13	8	6	50	42	8	47	W D W W W
4	San Jose Earthquakes	27	13	6	8	49	39	10	45	W D W W D
5	Houston Dynamo	27	13	5	9	34	32	2	44	L D L W D
6	Los Angeles FC	28	11	8	9	43	30	13	41	L D L W D
7	Seattle Sounders	27	10	8	9	35	35	0	38	W W W D D
8	Colorado Rapids	27	11	3	13	38	38	0	36	L D W D L
9	Los Angeles Galaxy	28	9	9	10	37	44	-7	36	W W D L W
10	Portland Timbers	27	9	5	13	48	51	-3	32	L L L D W
11	Real Salt Lake	27	9	5	13	40	44	-4	32	W L L L L
12	San Diego	27	8	8	11	47	47	0	32	D D L L L
13	Austin	27	7	10	10	35	47	-12	31	D D W D D
14	Minnesota United FC	27	7	8	12	40	49	-9	29	L L L L L
15	Sporting Kansas City	27	6	3	18	32	65	-33	21	L W L W L

• Position 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 : Promotion – MLS (Play Offs: 1/8-finals)
• Position 8, 9 : Promotion – MLS (Play Offs: 1/16-finals)

Eastern Conference

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 5
1	Nashville SC	27	18	6	3	55	21	34	60	W W D L D
2	New England Revolution	27	14	4	9	45	36	9	46	L W W W L
3	Inter Miami	27	12	10	5	64	50	14	46	L D D D W
4	Charlotte	27	12	7	8	47	38	9	43	L W D W D
5	Chicago Fire	26	12	6	8	46	38	8	42	W L L D D
6	Philadelphia Union	27	11	6	10	54	44	10	39	W W W W W
7	Orlando City SC	27	10	4	13	48	64	-16	34	L L W W W
8	New York Red Bulls	27	9	6	12	34	51	-17	33	L W W L D
9	New York City FC	27	8	9	10	41	36	5	33	D L W L D
10	FC Cincinnati	26	8	9	9	55	64	-9	33	L D D L L
11	DC United	26	6	12	8	34	42	-8	30	D L D W D
12	Columbus Crew	27	8	5	14	39	43	-4	29	W W L L W
13	Toronto FC	27	6	11	10	39	51	-12	29	L L L W D
14	Atlanta United FC	27	7	6	14	32	45	-13	27	D W D L L
15	CF Montreal	27	6	6	15	34	54	-20	24	W L L L L

• Position 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 : Promotion – MLS (Play Offs: 1/8-finals)
• Position 8, 9 : Promotion – MLS (Play Offs: 1/16-finals)

Nashville march on as Messi’s hopes wilt

While there was frustration for Miami, it was a superb result for Nashville, who are now in pole position to land silverware with just nine games remaining in the regular season.

“This was a big boys’ game tonight,” Nashville head coach BJ Callaghan said. “Two really good teams going toe to toe.

“I thought the game had a lot of intensity, a lot of physicality, some high-level play. Really proud of the group.”

Nashville are in action again next Saturday when they face Chicago Fire at GEODIS Park.