Lionel Messi scored his second career MLS hat-trick to propel Inter Miami to a 5-2 win over Nashville SC on Saturday night.
Messi leads the MLS in scoring with 29 goals this season. The last time he scored a hat trick was on October 19 in Inter Miami’s 6-2 win over the New England Revolution.
“It’s so clear that he (Messi) gives us an advantage every night,” Inter Miami defender Ian Fray said. “There are not enough words to say about him.”
He opened the scoring in the 35th minute, scoring his 27th goal of the season on a shot outside the center of the penalty area for a 1–0 Inter Miami lead. Nashville SC responded with a Sam Surridge header in the 43rd minute to tie the game 1–1.
After outscoring Inter Miami 11–4 in the first half, Nashville SC’s effort paid off in the sixth minute of first half stoppage time when Jacob Shaffelburg scored on Hany Mukhtar’s rebound from the left post for a 2–1 lead.
Miami was awarded a penalty after a handball on Andy Nájar in the 62nd minute. Messi scored his second of the match to secure a 2–2 draw. Four minutes later, Baltasar Rodríguez gave Inter Miami a 3-2 lead with a shot from the center of the penalty area.
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“Towards the end of the match our quality took over and we won the match,” Fray said. «We have some of the best players here to ever play the game. No matter who we play, we have the same mentality.»
Messi scored his third of the night after a left-footed shot from the center of the penalty area in the 81st minute, extending the lead to 4–2. Telasco Segovia added a fifth Inter Miami goal a minute after the stoppage to cement the victory.
«We didn’t do a good enough job (defending Messi), especially in the last 24, 25 yards. I think he was able to find spaces in the combinations,» Nashville coach BJ Callaghan said. “If you give him opportunities at the top of the box, he will take them.”
Messi’s hat-trick puts him ahead as a Golden Boot finalist for Most Valuable Player. He is now five goals ahead of the league’s second top scorers, Surridge and Denis Bouanga of Los Angeles FC.
Inter Miami ends the regular season with a record of 19-7-8 and as the third seed in the Eastern Conference would face Nashville in the first round of the MLS Playoffs, the sixth seed with a record of 16-12-6.
“That was a playoff game and we earned our way into the playoffs,” Callaghan said. «We’re looking forward to playing Miami again. Overall, it was a tale of two halves, and there will be some learning lessons we take from the second half.»
Published on October 19, 2025
