Lionel Messi celebrated his new Inter Miami deal in style as he got his club’s playoff campaign off to a solid start, scoring twice in a comfortable 3-1 win over Nashville in Friday’s Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round series.

The 38-year-old signed a new deal with the South Florida club Thursday, which commits him to Inter Miami through 2028 and which would see him playing until the age of 41.

It was a crucial deal for Miami’s owners to secure given the club will be opening its new stadium, Miami Freedom Park, next season and the prospect of doing so without the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was almost unthinkable for club owners Jorge and Jose Mas and David Beckham.

Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale has, overall, served the club well as a temporary home in its first six seasons in MLS, but there were a couple of thousand empty seats in the 21,550-capacity venue for a playoff game featuring one of the game’s greats.

Those who did make the trip for one of the final MLS games at the site of the old Lockhart Stadium saw  Messi receive his MLS Golden Boot award before the game from league commissioner Don Garber, who suffered the ritual booing from the home crowd.

It wasn’t long before the forward added to his 29 regular-season goals with his first of the postseason.

Messi picked up the ball from his compatriot Rodrigo De Paul in midfield and burst toward the backpedaling Nashville back line before slipping the ball outside to Luis Suárez. The Uruguayan floated the ball into the box where Messi, who had scampered past a static defense, dived to nod the ball past goalkeeper Joe Willis to make it 1-0.

Messi magic in Game One! 💥

What a start for @InterMiamiCF. // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/6ugOORVHGT

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 25, 2025

Headed goals are not the norm for Messi but nor are they exceptionally rare, This was the 29th of his career, and Manchester United fans will need no reminder of the looping headed goal he produced in Barcelona’s 2-0 victory over Alex Ferguson’s team in the 2009 Champions League final.

Miami was playing on the front foot, with that little extra aggression and determination that the playoffs are supposed to demand, but it requires more than a positive attitude to resolve its longstanding issues at the back. Nashville could have scored before Messi’s opener when Jacob Shaffelburg found open space to attack but managed only a weak shot that barely troubled Rocco Rios Novo.

U.S. Open Cup winner Nashville has a dangerous attack with Canadian winger Shaffelburg accompanied by English forward Sam Surridge, who tied for second in the Golden Boot race with 24 goals, and live-wire German Hany Mukhtar, but Miami’s midfield did a solid job of cutting off the supply lines.

Javier Mascherano’s side took firm control in the 62nd minute when Messi, hovering deep, fed overlapping fullback Ian Fray down the right, and the Jamaican international’s cross was perfectly headed home by Tadeo Allende.

Ian Fray to Tadeo Allende to make it 2-0!

The hosts are up in Game One.

📺 Apple TV & FS1: https://t.co/4kHGgd1eHs // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/NuHo1uj1Sg

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 25, 2025

With goal difference not a factor in this three-match format, there was no incentive for Miami to push forward in the final period, and Nashville never looked like turning the contest around.

But in stoppage time, Miami was gifted a third goal when Jordi Alba crossed from the left and keeper Willis, colliding with defender Walker Zimmerman, spilled the ball right to Messi, who had the simplest of tap-ins.

There was something for the smattering of visiting supporters to cheer when, in the final seconds of added time, Mukhtar provided a reminder of his quality with a superb curling free kick into the top corner.

Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said that the news of Messi’s new contract, on the eve of the playoffs, had helped end any doubts around the Argentine’s future even if he and the players were aware it was impending.

“I think it’s good that the club and Leo decided to do it before the play-offs started. I think it made sense, in the sense that we no longer have to ask ourselves too many questions about it and can focus much more on the sporting side of things. But anyway, this had been agreed for some time. We simply gave it an official framework on our part in terms of what is internal. We were completely calm because we knew that, even though it wasn’t official, it had already been signed, so it didn’t change much,” said Messi’s former Argentina and Barca team-mate.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 24: Javier Mascherano, Head Coach of Inter Miami CF, reacts during the 2025 MLS Cup Playoff match between Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC at Chase Stadium on October 24, 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)

“I think it’s good, more than anything else, because, if not, I repeat, everything that happens around Leo gets blown out of proportion. And often, when the play-offs come around and the renewal isn’t official, it can cause a bit of a stir, but in our case, it didn’t change anything,” he added.

Mascherano said he was pleased with his team’s overall performance but said they needed to be ready for a very different challenge in Game 2 of the series in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 1.

“We won the first one, but well, this is just the beginning. Now, it’s time to rest and start preparing during the week for Saturday’s match, which is also going to be another very tough game because the opponent has great players. They have players who can hurt you – we have to adjust and minimize our mistakes as much as possible,” he said.

The MLS playoffs continue Sunday with three games, including expansion club San Diego, the top seed in the Western Conference, up against Phil Neville’s Portland Timbers.