The Argentine legend Lionel Messi led his team Inter Miami to a deserved victory with a score of 3-1 against their guests Nashville, in the first match of the first playoff round of Major League Soccer.

Messi scored two goals in the match, the first in the 19th minute and the second in stoppage time (90+6), while his teammate Taïdu Allende added the third goal in the 62nd minute. Nashville's only goal came from star Hany Mukhtar in the (90+12) minute.

With this victory, Inter Miami places one foot in the next round, as this round is held in a best-of-three format (against the same team), meaning that the team that wins two matches qualifies for the quarter-finals of the tournament.

If Inter qualifies for the quarter-finals, they will face the winner of the match between Cincinnati and Columbus Crew, with the quarter-final match being a single encounter.