MIAMI: Lionel Messi scored a late goal, but sixth-seeded Nashville beat No. 3 seed Inter Miami 2-1 in Game 2 of the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
The teams will meet in Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 8 for a decisive Game 3.<\/p>\n
It was Nashville\u2019s first playoff win since the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs, when it defeated Orlando 2-1 at home in first round. Saturday\u2019s victory was also Nashville\u2019s first over Miami since May 17, 2023, in a 2-1 result.<\/p>\n
Sam Surridge opened the scoring in the ninth minute, finding the back of the net on a penalty shot with Inter Miami goalkeeper Rocco R\u00edos Novo diving the opposite way of the shot.<\/p>\n
Nashville struck again before the half as Josh Bauer connected with Hany Mukhtar\u2019s corner kick in the 45th minute to bump the lead to 2-0.<\/p>\n
Inter Miami made things interesting late as Messi <\/a>scored his sixth goal in three games against Nashville in the 90th minute.<\/p>\n Miami had a 10-9 shot advantage but Nashville had five shots on target to Miami\u2019s three.<\/p>\n The winner of the three-game series will face No. 2 Cincinnati or No. 7 Columbus Crew in the conference semifinals. Cincinnati leads that series, 1-0. Agencies<\/p>\n