By AFP
Lionel Messi recorded a hat-trick and added an assist, while Baltasar Rodriguez scored the tie-breaking goal as visiting Inter Miami used a second-half assault to defeat Nashville SC 5-2 in a Decision Day matchup on Saturday night.
Telasco Segovia also scored for Inter Miami (19-7-8, 65 points), who won their third straight game. Miami will be the No 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and faces a rematch with No 6 Nashville in the first round.
Sam Surridge and Jacob Shaffelburg scored goals for Nashville (16-12-6, 54 points), which did not allow a shot over the first 34 minutes before being badly exposed in the second half.
Messi was a clear winner in the 2025 MLS Golden Boot race, finishing the regular season with 29 goals. Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga (24 goals) and Surridge (24 goals) were the next-best. The 38-year-old also led the league in assists, with 19.
Rocco Rios Novo made five saves for Miami, while Nashville’s Joe Willis had four stops.
Nashville was nursing a 2-1 lead in the second half until Andy Najar was called for a handball.
Messi took the ensuing penalty kick in the 63rd minute and easily sent a left-footed shot into the left corner of the net to tie the match.
The goal energised Miami, and it moved ahead just four minutes later.
Luis Suarez took a right-footed shot that Willis knocked away. But the ball bounced over towards Rodriguez, who sent a right-footed shot past Willis to give Miami a 3-2 lead.
Messi was at it again in the 81st minute as he booted a left-footed shot into the lower left corner to make it 4-2.
In the first minute of second-half stoppage time, Messi had possession and closed in on Willis before feeding the wide-open Segovia, who kicked the ball into the net to finish off the flurry.
Miami’s initial shot came on Messi’s goal in the 34th minute. He received the ball from Jordi Alba and had three defenders to manoeuvre around before sending a left-footed shot into the left corner of the net.
Nashville responded in the 43rd minute when Hany Mukhtar sent a short centring pass to Surridge, who knocked in a header.
Nashville struck again in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time. Mukhtar took a shot that caromed off the right goalpost, and the ball went directly to Shaffelburg, who knocked it home to put Nashville ahead.
