Inter Miami advances to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup after beating Nashville in the second leg of their round of 16 match at Chase Stadium.
It was the usual suspects on the scoresheet for Miami in a 3-1 win, with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Robert Taylor all scoring in the aggregate 5-3 victory.
Unfortunately for Tata Martino’s side, it wasn’t all plain sailing on the night, with Messi only taking the lead after 50 minutes, sparking injury fears ahead of the international break.
David Beckham’s franchise heads to Washington this weekend to play DC United before Messi and Co head to their national teams and away from the MLS.
Overall, though, it will go down as a good night for Miami, which cruised to victory in front of an energetic South Florida crowd.
Lionel Messi (left) celebrates with friend and teammate Luis Suarez during the big win
Suarez scores past Joe Willis to help Inter Miami to a 3-1 victory over MLS rival Nashville SC
Robert Taylor only came on after 50 minutes, but also managed to get himself on the scoresheet
After trailing 2-0 and drawing 2-2 in the 95th minute of the first leg, there were no more worries on Wednesday evening.
Suarez continued his good form in the pink of Inter Miami and opened the scoring after eight minutes, collecting a pass from Messi to poke past the keeper.
Messi got on the scoresheet a few minutes later as he collected a pass from Diego Gomez before firing past the goalkeeper and into the right side of the net.
Messi played 50 minutes of the match and scored the second goal of Inter Miami’s three
The Argentine superstar sparked fear among fans when he was substituted after just 50 minutes
Inter Miami has now advanced to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup
After the break, Taylor replaced Messi after 50 minutes and scored a goal himself, directing Suarez’s beautifully weighted cross into the top corner.
In injury time, Sam Surridge pulled one back for Nashville, but it is Inter Miami and their star-studded squad who advance to the next round of the competition.
However, fans will hope that Messi’s blow is not too serious.
