Flying header leads Messi’s brace as Miami beat Nashville

Darwin, 25 October — He’s the player with the second-most goals in professional football history and the owner of countless records. Yet, when it comes to headers, Lionel Messi has scored relatively few. Still, when asked about his favorite goal, he once mentioned a header he scored for Barcelona. And tonight, he repeated that very act — this time in Inter Miami colors. With a flying header and a second strike, Messi led Miami to a 3–1 win over Nashville SC.

Just a day earlier, the Argentine superstar had signed a new three-year deal with Miami. Even before this match, he had already secured the MLS Golden Boot by finishing the regular season with 29 goals — the league’s highest tally. Before kickoff, MLS Commissioner Don Garber presented him with the award. Then, Messi opened the scoring with a soaring header and later added another to seal the victory.

Miami led 2–0 during regulation time. The game saw some late drama when Nashville pulled one back six minutes after Messi’s second goal, in the 96th minute. Playing at home in Chase Stadium, Miami dominated with 53% possession and 12 shots — six on target. Nashville managed six shots, three of which were on goal.

This was Miami’s second win over Nashville in a week. In their final regular-season game, the Florida side had triumphed 5–2 thanks to a Messi hat-trick. With this latest win, Javier Mascherano’s team took the lead in the first round of the “Best of Three” playoff series.

Messi gave Miami the lead in the 19th minute. Meeting a Luis Suárez cross in the middle of the box, he lifted himself slightly off the ground and directed a header into the net — 1–0 Miami. The hosts carried that lead into halftime.

In the 62nd minute, Tadeo Allende doubled the advantage with another header, this one from Ian Fray’s delivery. The score remained 2–0 until deep into stoppage time. In the sixth added minute, Messi netted perhaps one of the easiest goals of his career — tapping into an empty net after the Nashville goalkeeper failed to hold onto a loose ball. Soon after, Hany Mukhtar scored for the visitors, but it was too late to change the outcome.