Fort Lauderdale, Sep 21: Lionel Messi bagging a brace and dishing out an assist as Inter Miami CF defeated D.C. United 3-2 at home to close out the week with a second consecutive win.

Attacker Tadeo Allende scored the team’s other goal on the night at Chase Stadium.

Additionally, with his two goals and assist tonight, Messi recorded his 16th game with at least one goal and one assist, tying Carlos Vela (16) for the second-most in a player’s first three MLS seasons and trailing only Preki (17).

It seemed as if the match would go into the break scoreless after an even first 45 minutes, before Allende found the breakthrough goal for Inter Miami to pull ahead in the 35th minute. A sublime line-splitting ball from Messi left Allende one on one against the opposition’s goalkeeper, where he slotted the ball at the bottom right corner for his eight goal this regular season. The assist, meanwhile, was Messi’s team-leading 12th this league campaign, Inter Miami reports.

The visitors equalised early in the second half, with Christian Benteke scoring for D.C. United in the 53rd minute.

Inter Miami then nearly reclaimed its lead on two different occasions. First, Messi rattled the crossbar with a finish from inside the box in the 55th minute, before an attempt from close range from Allende was saved in the 59th minute.

Messi subsequently reestablished Inter Miami’s lead in the 66th minute, with Alba finding our Club captain on the right end of the box before he performed a quick turn and sent the ball to the back of the net with a left-footed finish to the bottom right corner. The goal took Messi’s tally to 21 this regular season, while the assist was the 10th for Alba.

Inter Miami had a penalty in its favor in the 72nd minute, but the attempt from the spot bounced off the crossbar.

Our Club captain secured his brace in the 85th minute to give Inter Miami a 3-1 lead, placing the ball in the upper left corner with a left-footed hit from the top of the box following an assist from Busquets.

The goal was Messi’s 22 this regular season as he now leads the race for the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi, while the assist was Busquets’ seventh in the league this season.

Jacob Murrell scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time to shorten the deficit for D.C.

The 3-2 scoreline would then remain unchanged through the final whistle for Inter Miami to claim all three points at home.

(IANS)