Lionel Messi delivered a masterclass on Saturday night, scoring twice and assisting two more goals as Inter Miami hammered the Columbus Crew 5-1 in Major League Soccer. The emphatic win served as a perfect tune-up ahead of Miami's debut in the FIFA Club World Cup on June 14, where they will face Al Ahly, the reigning African champions from Egypt.
Following a rough patch in form, Miami seem to have regained momentum with back-to-back wins. Their 4-2 triumph over Montreal earlier in the week-powered by braces from both Messi and Luis Suarez-helped ease the pressure on manager Javier Mascherano. That confidence carried into their latest performance, where they completely dismantled a usually reliable Columbus side.
The breakthrough came early. In the 13th minute, Messi dropped deep into midfield and sent a perfectly weighted long ball to Tadeo Allende, who kept his composure to slot the ball home for 1-0. Just two minutes later, Columbus goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen, standing in for the injured Patrick Schulte, made a disastrous error by passing the ball straight to Messi. Although he got a hand to Messi's attempted chip, the ball looped over and into the net for Miamis second.
Messi's second goal came in the 24th minute after a smart lofted pass from Sergio Busquets caught Columbus off guard. The Argentine maestro latched on to it and deftly lobbed the keeper once again to make it 3-0.
Columbus pulled one back in the second half with a bullet header from Cesar Ruvalcaba in the 58th minute, but Miami quickly responded. Six minutes later, Messi surged forward through midfield, picked out Telasco Segovia, who then found Luis Suarez on the edge of the box. The Uruguayan striker made no mistake, curling the ball into the far corner for 4-1.