Messi & the Golden Boot: Argentine’s hat-trick in win over Nashville takes him to 29 goals in MLS this season
Messi became the top scorer in MLS this season with 29 goals. His last hat-trick was in Inter Miami’s 6-2 win over New England Revolution on October 19.
“It’s obvious that he (Messi) gives us an advantage every night,” Inter Miami defender Ian Fray said. “There are not enough words to say about him.”
The player scored the first goal in the 35th minute and scored his 27th goal of the season with a shot from the middle of the penalty area, putting Inter Miami ahead 1-0. Nashville SC responded with a header from Sam Surridge in the 43rd minute, tying the game at 1-1.
The effort of Nashville SC, which defeated Inter Miami 11-4 in the first half, paid off when Jacob Shaffelburg took Hany Muhtar’s rebound from the left post in the sixth minute of the first half’s stoppage time and took the lead 2-1.
Miami won a penalty after Andy Najar handed the ball over in the 62nd minute. Messi scored his second goal in the match with a 2-2 draw. Four minutes later, Baltasar Rodriguez put Inter Miami ahead 3-2 with a shot from the middle of the penalty area. “Towards the end of the match, our quality came into play and we won the match.” said Fray. “We have some of the best players to play the game here. No matter who we play, we have the same mentality.” Messi scored his third goal of the night with a left-footed shot from the middle of the penalty area in the 81st minute, increasing the difference to 4-2. Telasco Segovia added his fifth Inter Miami goal a minute into stoppage time to consolidate the win.
“We didn’t do a good enough job (defending Messi), especially in the last 24-25 yards. I think he was able to find space in the combinations,” Nashville coach BJ Callaghan said. he said. “If you give him a chance at the top of the box, he will take it.”
Messi’s hat-trick gives him the edge to become a Golden Boot finalist for Most Valuable Player. He currently sits five goals clear of the league’s second-leading scorers, Surridge and Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga.
Inter Miami, which finished the regular season with a record of 19-7-8, took the third place in the Eastern Conference and will face Nashville, which is in sixth place with a record of 16-12-6, in the first round of the MLS Playoffs.
“This was a play-off game and we deserved to get into the play-offs,” Callaghan said. “We are looking forward to playing Miami again. Overall, the game was a tale of two halves and we will have some lessons to learn from the second half.”
