Football: MLS, Messi scores hat-trick in Inter Miami-Nashville and is king of the strikers

Milan, 19 Oct. (LaPresse/Ap) – Lionel Messi ran riot on “Decision Day”. The Argentine ace scored his second hat-trick in MLS, leading Inter Miami to a 5-2 victory over Nashville SC. Messi, who leads MLS with 29 goals this season, also won the Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer. The last time he scored a hat-trick was on 19 October 2024, in Inter Miami’s 6-2 victory over New England Revolution. Baltasar Rodríguez and Telasco Segovia also scored for Inter Miami. Sam Surridge and Jacob Shaffelburg scored for Nashville. Inter Miami finished third in the Eastern Conference standings and will face Nashville, the number six seed, again starting on Friday in the opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs in a best-of-three series. Saturday was the league’s traditional “Decision Day”, the last day of the regular season when both conferences played simultaneously, with playoff spots at stake.