Facing a team that was 5 places above them in the Eastern Conference, Inter Miami entered the match with difficulty when Nashville put pressure on them from the start. However, Messi's class once again made the difference. In the 17th minute, he took a direct free kick and took a dangerous shot himself to open the score for the home team.
Nashville pushed up their formation after conceding and equalized in the 49th minute thanks to a close-range header from Hany Mukhtar from Andy Najar.
However, this advantage did not last long. In the 63rd minute, in a confusing situation of goalkeeper Joe Willis, Messi stole the ball, passing the goalkeeper before slowly finishing to set the score at 2-1.
This was Messi's 5th consecutive double in MLS, after matches against Montreal (2 matches), Columbus crew and New England Revolution. Over the past month, the Argentine striker has scored 10 goals, including 6 in the last week alone.
This victory helped Inter Miami rise to 5th place in the Eastern Conference rankings with 38 points after 19 matches, only 4 points behind leaders FC Cincinnati and still have two matches left to play. With Messi's current form, Inter Miami is becoming a strong candidate in the championship race this season.
