Messi shines as Miami clinch dominant 3-1 home victory over Sounders

Fort Lauderdale: Inter Miami returned to winning ways with a dominant 3-1 home win over Seattle Sounders.

Stellar performances from captain and Royal Caribbean Icon of the Match, Lionel Messi, and defender Jordi Alba - who scored a goal and dished out an assist each - and a goal from Academy product Ian Fray led Miami to victory on the evening at Chase Stadium.

Miami got off to a quick start with Alba finding the opener early in the 12th minute. Bright recovered possession close to the halfway line to kickstart a counter. Messi subsequently picked up the ball and cleared his path before finding Alba on the left side, where the Spanish defender took a touch before finding the back of the net with a left-footed finish.

The goal took Alba’s tally to three this regular season, while the assist was the 11th for Messi this league campaign, Miami reports.

Fray had a good chance to extend Miami’s lead shortly after in the 16th minute, but his shot from the right end of the box following a precise pass from Messi was met by a save from Seattle’s goalkeeper.

Messi nearly struck in the 28th minute, bringing down a sublime ball from Busquets inside the box and hitting the left post with an outside of the foot finish. Fray then had another dangerous attempt in the 33rd minute, with a powerful header at the near post that was stopped by Seattle’s keeper.

Messi ultimately was able to double the lead for Inter Miami in the 41st minute. Bright once again kickstarted the play, winning possession and finding Alba on the left wing. The left-back then fed a precise ball towards the center of the box, where Messi slid to send the ball to the back of the net.

The goal was the 20th for Messi in 21 regular season appearances, while the assist was Alba’s ninth this regular season.

It was an overall dominant performance for Miami throughout the initial 45 minutes, with six shots on target to two for Seattle, while also controlling the ball with 53% of the possession.

Miami opened the second half further extending their lead through Fray in the 52nd minute. The Academy product headed home a delivery into the box from De Paul on a corner kick to bag his first goal of the campaign. The assist, on the other hand, was De Paul’s fourth this regular season.

Seattle shortened the deficit in the 69th minute, with Obed Vargas scoring for the visitors.

Miami later on made a substitution in the 81st minute, with Silvetti coming on to replace Allende to make his debut for the Club.

The 3-1 scoreline would subsequently remain unchanged through the final whistle for Miami to claim all three points at home.

Earlier, Thomas Muller scored a hat trick on his 36th birthday, Rayan Elloumi became the youngest player in Vancouver history to score a regular-season goal at 17 years, 193 days, and the Whitecaps beat the Philadelphia Union 7-0 to clinch a playoff spot.

Vancouver (15-6-7) became the seventh team in MLS history to win a regular-season game by seven goals. The seven goals were also a club record.

Philadelphia (17-7-6) came into the game sitting atop the league standings.

The Whitecaps scored four first-half goals for the first time in their MLS history.

Müller, playing in his third MLS game, converted a pair of first-half penalty kicks and scored on a header late in the second half. He added his first MLS assist midway through the second half on a pass to Emmanuel Sabbi at the top of the penalty area.

Sabbi scored twice for the Whitecaps, who secured a postseason berth for the third year in a row. Mathias Laborda also scored.

Yohei Takaoka stopped two shots to record his MLS-leading 12th clean sheet of the season.

Vancouver played without star striker Brian White, who is recovering from a hamstring injury.

Müller signed with the Whitecaps last month following 17 storied seasons with Bayern Munich.

Sounders, Miami set for rematch: The last time the Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami faced each other, things got ugly.

A postgame scuffle in the Leagues Cup championship match Aug. 31 led to sanctions on both teams from both the tournament and Major League Soccer, most notably a three-game MLS suspension for Inter Miami superstar Luis Suarez.

The teams are bracing for what is now a very anticipated rematch Tuesday night in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which could have major ramifications on each team’s MLS playoff seeding.

Seattle pulled away from Miami in the second half that night at home to win 3-0 and secure its first Leagues Cup title. Suarez was suspended for spitting on a member of the Sounders’ staff and will be serving the second match of his league sanction Tuesday.

The Sounders (12-7-9, 45 points) returned to MLS action Saturday night with a 2-2 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Seattle sits in fourth place in the Western Conference and is trying to solidify a top-four spot in order to earn home-field advantage in the first round.

Agencies