Lionel Messi had two goals and an assist, German Berterame had the go-ahead goal in the 84th minute and Inter Miami rallied for a 5-3 victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday, extending its road winning streak to seven.
It is the third time this season the Argentine superstar has had at least three goal contributions in a match. He is second in the league with 12 goals.
Mateo Silvetti evened it at 3-3 in the 79th minute after coming on as a substitute.
Kevin Denkey, Pavel Bucha and Evander scored for Cincinnati. It is the first time in 64 matches since Pat Noonan became coach in 2023 it lost when it had the lead after 75 minutes.
Messi gave Miami a 1-0 lead at the 24-minute mark after he deflected a shot that went off Cincinnati’s Matt Miazga near the Cincinnati goal. Denkey evened it on a penalty kick in the 41st minute.
After Bucha put Cincinnati on top in the 49th minute, Messi made it 2-2 six minutes later on a cutback after getting the pass from Luis Suarez.
Evander’s in the 64th minute with a right footer from the center just outside the box to give Cincinnati a 3-2 lead. Miami though would rally and score the next three goals.
After Silvetti’s goal, Miami took the lead off a set piece when Cincinnati’s Andrei Chirila collided with goalkeeper Roman Celentano, allowing Berterame to put it into the open net.
Messi appeared to have a hat trick in the 89th minute when his shot went off the post and deflected off Celentano, but it was corrected to an own goal shortly after the match. It would have been Messi’s 61st hat trick in all competitions.
Messi has 61 goals and 42 assists in 65 regular-season matches.
Mami had a 16-10 edge in shots.
___
AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer
