Carried by a double from Lionel Messi, Inter Miami beat the defending champion Columbus Crew (3-2) in Ohio on Wednesday to secure first place in Major League Soccer (MLS), the championship of North American football, at the end of the regular season. Top scorer, Christian Benteke added a 22nd rose to his credit for DC United.
Inter Miami wins the “supporters’ shield”, the name of the trophy awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the championship but before the play-offs, which will decide the champion from October 23.
Messi scored the first two goals of a disjointed match, the second with a direct free kick. The 37-year-old Argentinian, who recently returned from a two-month break due to injury, has compiled 17 goals and 15 assists in 17 league games this season.
On the Belgian side, Dante Vanzeir, holder, played 82 minutes with New York Red Bulls winning 1 goal to 4 in Toronto. The former Unionist was replaced ten minutes from time when the score read 1-3. His replacement Elias Manoel scored the 4th goal in the 88th minute.
The New York franchise is 6th in the East, in position to appear in the playoffs, with 47 points to 68 at Inter Miami, two days before the regular phase.
Christian Benteke scored another goal with DC United returning victorious from their trip to Nashville (3-4). Trailing 3 to 1, DC United came back to score first through Benteke in the 76th minute for his 22nd goal of the season, in 28 games, before Gabriel Pirani scored two goals in stoppage time. DC United is 11th with 37 points in the East.
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