Nashville SC 0-0 Inter Miami: Messi missed chance to score his 900th career goal

Inter Miami clinches an edge on ball possession but only one attempt on target. Next game in Miami will decide which side will advance to the next round. 

Match Report:

Nashville SC held Inter Miami CF to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of its Concacaf Champions Cup round-of-16 match with the defending MLS champions on Wednesday night at GEODIS Park.

The teams will meet again on March 18 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale to decide which squad advances to the quarterfinal round.

The result means Miami star Lionel Messi is still one goal shy of the 900 mark, after netting his 899th on Saturday against D.C. United.

Messi, who came into the game looking to join Ronaldo as the only other player to score 900 goals for club and country, came close early in the second half but was denied by Nashville keeper Brian Schwake.

Entering the contest, Messi had scored in six straight games against Nashville, dating to April 20, 2024, posting 12 goals and five assists in that stretch. He was held without a point for the second time in four games after being held off the scoresheet in a 3-0 loss to LAFC on Feb. 21.

Messi's one shot on target was his lowest single-game shot total since Nov. 29, in the MLS Cup Eastern Conference final against New York City FC. In that game, he had no shots on goal , but did have an assist in Inter Miami's 5-1 win.

Miami dominated possession, controlling the ball for 59% of the game. However, Nashville was proactive when it had the ball, recording 15 total shots to Miami's eight, four of which were on target.

"The team played a good game, especially in terms of defensive organization, preventing Nashville from playing comfortably," Miami coach Javier Mascherano said.

"It's never easy coming here; we knew that beforehand. And well, now we wait for next Wednesday with our fans to see if we can close out the tie and advance to the quarterfinals."

Nashville's best chance came off a corner from Cristian Espinoza in the 65th minute. His throw-in found Reed Baker-Whiting in the box. However, Baker-Whiting sent a header just over the crossbar.

Inter Miami's Maximiliano Falcón was injured in the seventh minute and left the game. He was replaced by Gonzalo Luján.

"Regarding Maxi [Falcon], we don't know; it's very recent. He'll have to undergo tests," Mascherano said. "Hopefully, it will be as minor as possible. He's a strong player, but the fact that he has to come off means there's something wrong."

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Line-ups

Nashville SC XI: Andy Nájar, Hany Mukhtar, Cristian Espinoza, Jeison Palacios, Sam Surridge, Maxwell Woledzi, Reed Baker-Whiting, Brian Schwake, Patrick Yazbek, Matthew Corcoran, Warren Madrigal

Subs: Joe Willis, Bryan Acosta, Alex Muyl, Daniel Lovitz, Jack Maher, Edvard Tagseth, Ahmed Qasem, Thomas Williams, Josh Bauer, Woobens Pacius, Xavier Valdez, Jordan Knight

Inter Miami CF XI: Messi, De Paul, Germán Berterame, Maximiliano Falcón, Dayne St. Clair, Facundo Mura, Telasco Segovia, Tadeo Allende, Micael, Noah Allen, Yannick Bright

Subs: Suarez, Reguilon, Luis Barraza, Rocco Ríos Novo, David Ayala, Gonzalo Luján, Ian Fray, David Ruíz, Santiago Morales, Dániel Pintér, Mateo Silvetti, Alexander Shaw