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    • Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami to 3-2 victory against Columbus Crew: Takeaways
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    Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami to 3-2 victory against Columbus Crew: Takeaways

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    It was familiar territory for the Crew, after trailing 2-0 against Inter Miami.

    Earlier this season, Columbus managed to come back from that deficit by beating Miami. The difference between then and the clubs’ most recent meeting is that this time Miami had its star player Lionel Messi.

    On Wednesday, the Crew was defeated 3-2 by Miami behind two goals from Messi, who played his first ever match against Columbus. The victory secured Miami the 2024 Supporters’ Shield, a title awarded to the club with the best regular-season record.

    Replay: Lionel Messi scores 2, Columbus Crew falls 3-2 to Inter Miami

    Looking at the box score, it would be easy to conclude that Messi was the reason why Miami walked away from Lower.com Field on top, and Messi played a big role in building Miami’s lead by scoring his two goals in the first half.

    “He had a chance and a half and scored two goals,” Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. “This is why he is Messi. I think they did a good job. They controlled what they had to control.”

    However, Messi’s most impactful moments of the match all came during half-time. For the remaining 45 minutes or so it was the Crew that got in their way.

    The Crew would begin to build momentum several times in the second half. That momentum would continue until they committed a devastating mistake or failed to capitalize on a scoring opportunity.

    Shortly after Diego Rossi scored the Crew’s first goal of the match, goalkeeper Patrick Schulte and defender Rudy Camacho collided and allowed Miami’s Luis Suarez to score. And just two minutes after striker Cucho Hernandez scored from a penalty to cut the lead to 3-2, Camacho was shown a red card for his second yellow card of the match.

    The Crew had to play with ten men for more than 25 minutes to finish the match.

    “It’s football, simple as that,” Nancy said. “They wanted to do well. Rudy has saved us many times during the season and tonight he didn’t have a good night, he knows that.”

    Lionel Messi needed just five minutes to put his two goals for Inter Miami into the back of the Columbus Crew goal

    For most of the first half, the team was able to keep Messi and the entire Miami lineup from making virtually any offensive move. The only shot Miami made in front of Messi’s goal was a 40th-minute attempt by Suarez that Schulte saved.

    Five minutes later, Messi saw his first chance in the Crew’s penalty area.

    After beating two defenders for the ball, Messi went one-on-one with Schulte and won, sending his shot past the Crew goalkeeper. Another five minutes later, Messi scored a free kick just outside the team’s penalty area, after a foul on Camacho, which led to the second Messi goal.

    “Obviously it’s difficult to prepare for a player like that,” said Crew midfielder Max Arfsten. “We’ve tried to be very aware of where he is, because he finds good places, and we’ve done what we can to limit his opportunities. And it goes without saying that he’s of good quality.”

    A series of unfortunate events led to Columbus Crew failing to capitalize in the second half against Inter Miami

    Columbus had found an opening during the opening minute of the second half when Rossi scored the team’s first goal, and the crowd at Lower.com Field roared loudly.

    The cheers continued as the officials indicated there were no fouls on Rossi’s goal, and Miami kicked the ball out of the restart.

    In the short time it took Rossi to cut Miami’s lead to 2-1, Miami could flip the script back to a two-goal lead.

    Suarez was sent a long pass into the Crew’s penalty area less than 30 seconds after Miami’s kickoff. As Schulte went to play the ball, Camacho ran with his back to the goal and crashed straight into Schulte. The goal knocked the ball straight out of Schulte’s hands, allowing Suarez to set up an easy header.

    “It was loud in there,” Schulte said. “I had a shout from the goalkeeper, but I don’t think it was loud enough. It was right after we scored, so the room was turned upside down. And from my point of view, I just have to be louder and maybe call them off. ” next time a little later.

    Camacho’s night got worse when he earned the red card, taking him out of the match. But even with his big mistake that led to Miami conceding the third goal and the team down to ten men, there were still openings for Columbus.

    The Crew had free scoring opportunities in the second half, with Miami managing to commit two handball violations within its own penalty area. This earned Hernandez two penalty attempts.

    Hernandez made his first attempt, but for his second after 84 minutes, Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender tracked down Hernandez’s shot and made a diving save.

    “It’s tough,” said Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe. “At that point it’s just mental, how quickly can we recover from it. I thought we did well to score the second goal, and I thought it was just a matter of time. If we play longer, I think we can achieve that.” the third and then bad luck that he can’t convert the penalty, but Cucho, he is who he is, and normally he knocks it down.”

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