Messi dismantles Cincinnati and takes Miami to the conference finals

(AFP) Inter Miami thrashed FC Cincinnati 4-0 on Sunday to advance to the MLS Eastern Conference final for the first time, thanks to the magic of Lionel Messi, who signed a goal and a hat-trick of assists.

The 38-year-old Argentine star opened the scoring with a header from a cross by his young teammate Mateo Silvetti in the 19th minute at TLQ Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In the 57th minute, the roles changed and Messi provided the pass for the second goal to Silvetti, a skillful 19-year-old striker whom Javier Mascherano kept in the starting lineup at the expense of Uruguay's Luis Suarez.

Another Argentine attacker, Tadeo Allende, sealed Miami's qualification with two lightning counterattacks, in the 62nd and 74th, after two more fine assists from Messi.

Inter moved to within two steps of their coveted first league title on the back of the inexhaustible genius of "Diez," who has accumulated six goals and six assists in the four playoff games. 

"Great game by the whole team against a rival that had always cost us a lot. One more step," Messi celebrated on his social media.

Next week, Miami will play the conference final against the winner of the clash between the Philadelphia Union and New York City, which was also played this Sunday.

In the West, German Thomas Müller-led Vancouver Whitecaps await an opponent from Monday's clash between Mexican Hirving "Chucky" Lozano's San Diego FC and Minnesota United.

Mascherano benches Suárez

After a week of uncertainty about the lineup, Mascherano opted to line up an attack with the promising Silvetti, who already connected perfectly with Messi in the 4-0 rout of Nashville in the first-round playoff.

Luis Suarez, Messi's historic partner, was suspended that day for hitting a Nashville player in the previous match.

The celebrated Uruguayan striker, 38, was thus uncharacteristically relegated to the bench, from where he cheered and gave instructions to his teammates until he came on in the 76th minute.

"Taking off a player who has scored 600 goals in his career is never easy (...) But it is admirable how he made the decision," Mascherano said of his former Barcelona teammate.

"We talked about it during the week, he understood it, he helped his teammates, he trained in the best way and was always behind," the Argentine helmsman stated.

The victory allowed the Pistolero, whose future is in question due to his declining performance, as well as Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, who have confirmed their retirements after this series, to postpone their farewells to soccer for at least one more game.

First East final

Cincinnati, second in the East in the regular season, tied on points with Miami, and relied on the support of its 26,000 fans to also reach its first conference final.

The offense led by Brazilian Evander, a finalist for the season MVP award like Messi, unsettled with its speed in the early stages of the game, but without putting goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo in trouble.

Miami's first strike came from a Jordi Alba steal in the opposition half.

The fullback set up Messi, who had gone unnoticed until then. The captain opened the ball to the left flank for Silvetti, who returned it to him with a pinpoint cross that Messi headed into the net.

Although Miami pushed back the lines, Cincinnati continued to find cracks and Venezuelan Ender Echenique missed an unbeatable chance with a shot that was too wide.

After the break, the home side took more risks in the back and Messi made them pay by generating the other three goals.

In the first, he received the ball on the balcony of the area and opened up on the left for Silvetti, who curled a spectacular shot to the opposite post.

The other assists from Messi were two delightful through-balls from his own half for Allende to finish alone in front of the goalkeeper.

With this show of strength, Inter settled into their first Eastern final since joining the MLS in 2020 and strengthened their title bid for the Dec. 6 final.