With this defeat, Inter Miami slipped further from the top of the league table.
Lionel Messi’s impressive run of scoring two goals every time he stepped on the field came to an end, as he couldn’t find the net this time. Neither could his team, Inter Miami. Cincinnati dominated and secured their strong position in the points table by thrashing Inter Miami.
In Thursday’s early morning match (Bangladesh time) at the opponent’s ground, Messi’s teammates were also unable to make an impact. Inter Miami suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat.
From the start, Cincinnati applied intense pressure and took the lead in the 16th minute through midfielder Gerardo Valenzuela, who was born in the United States. Keeping up the pressure, they doubled the lead early in the second half. Brazilian midfielder Evander scored the second goal in the 50th minute and added a third in the 70th.
Inter Miami tasted defeat after five consecutive wins in Major League Soccer. In each of those five matches, Messi scored twice, setting a new record for the most consecutive games with multiple goals in the competition’s history. The previous record was four games.
Messi’s streak of consecutive goals in the league began on May 24 in a 3-3 draw against Philadelphia Union, where he scored once. Now, after six straight games, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has finally gone scoreless.
With 16 goals in 17 matches, Messi was joint top scorer in the current MLS season but has now dropped to second place.
Following Cincinnati’s brilliant win over Inter Miami, they sit second in the MLS Eastern Conference with 45 points from 23 matches — just one point behind leaders Philadelphia.
Inter Miami is fifth with eight points fewer than the leaders. However, due to commitments in the Club World Cup, Miami has played three fewer matches.
