Inter Miami lifted its second trophy in club history, the Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield, after a 3–2 triumph over Columbus Crew. Lionel Messi played a key part in the Herons' first-ever trophy win in the Leagues Cup final last summer, and the former Barcelona forward came up huge again with a stunning brace for the south Florida team Wednesday night.
Messi—who joined Miami on a free transfer last summer from Paris Saint-Germain—has played in roughly half of Miami's regular season matches but now finds himself in the Landon Donovan MVP conversation.
Through the first five league matches of the season, Messi managed five goals and two assists. Messi returned to action at the club level from an ankle injury suffered in the Copa América final on Sept. 14–his first minutes for Miami since early June. The Argentine logged five goals and dished out one assist to spur Miami on to the Supporters' Shield.
"I am happy," the 37-year-old said to Apple TV after the match. "Happy that we did it. At the beginning of the year we knew that this was a group to fight for this. We took charge from the beginning, we had the players to do this. I am happy to secure the first objective, and we're thinking of the next."
Se disfruta más entre amigos 🏆🩷 pic.twitter.com/XfPgyj97aI
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 3, 2024
Yes, Miami managed to win an impressive eight out of nine matches when Messi was at Copa América and afterward injured, but it will be hard to deny the eight-time Ballon d'Or the MVP award after he's totaled 32 goal contributions in 17 league appearances.
Messi couldn't have done it on his own, however, which we saw near the end of last season as Miami didn't have the supporting cast that it now has. Since Messi joined the Herons, players such as Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez (who's third in the Golden Boot race with 18 goals), Julian Gressel, Tomás Avilés, Diego Gómez, Federico Redondo, Matías Rojas and Facundo Farías have all played parts in this season's success.
The Herons look forward to the MLS Cup playoffs in late October with sights set on a third piece of silverware. Looking even further ahead, Miami returns to the CONCACAF Champions Cup next year and is also slated to compete in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, according to GiveMeSport.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lionel Messi 'Happy' After Inter Miami Win 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield .
