Lionel Messi assisted Rodrigo de Paul in the 71st minute and Tadeo Allende in second-half stoppage time as Inter Miami pulled away to defeat the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 and win their first MLS Cup.
The two plays sealed Miami’s third major trophy and first MLS Cup since the club began MLS play in 2020, all of those coming since Messi joined the Herons in 2023.
It also prevented Messi from finishing a season without a major club trophy for the first time since the 2020-21 La Liga season, his last with FC Barcelona.
The 38-year-old Ballon d’Or winner finished the playoffs with six goals and nine assists, registering at least one goal or assist in all six of Miami’s playoff matches while easily posting an MLS record for goal contributions in one season.
Messi, de Paul, and Sergio Busquets also became the first players to win both a World Cup and an MLS Cup.
Allende’s goal was his ninth of the playoffs, breaking a record set by the LA Galaxy’s Carlos Ruiz, who also helped his side win its first MLS Cup in 2002.
Allende’s cross much earlier set up Miami’s open goal, ultimately an own-goal credited to Vancouver defender Edier Ocampo.
Ali Ahmed pulled Vancouver level in the 60th minute during the Whitecaps’ most dominant stretch of the afternoon.
Only two minutes later, Emmanuel Sabbi had two efforts strike the post in a matter of moments as Vancouver briefly looked the more likely side to find a late winner and become the team to win its first MLS Cup title.
But in a match where Messi was held to few dangerous direct scoring chances, he made the decisive plays to set up others.
In the 71st minute, started with something the defending World Cup champion is less known for, an alert defensive play to pressure Vancouver’s Andres Cubas into a turnover in his own half.
From there, Messi looked up quickly and spotted de Paul sprinting between the defenders in Vancouver’s back line.
De Paul timed his run perfectly to reach Messi’s throughball first while remaining onside, calmed himself with his first touch and then fired a well-placed second beyond the outstretched leg of goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka on Miami’s second shot of the half.
His second assist came 25 minutes later and might have been even better, as he chested down Jordi Alba’s long ball with his first touch and then played Allende into space with his second for a simpler finish on the break past Takaoka.
–Field Level Media
