Lionel Messi Scores Twice as Inter Miami Rally to Beat FC Cincinnati 5-3

For most of Wednesday night at TQL Stadium, FC Cincinnati had an answer for everything Inter Miami threw at it. Then Lionel Messi decided the plot needed a twist. In the space of 10 minutes, Miami scored three times: a Messi pass for Mateo Silvetti, a set-piece scramble finished by Germán Berterame and a Messi shot that hit the post and went in off Roman Celentano. The sellout crowd of 25,513 had watched its team lead twice. After Evander's 64th-minute goal, it did not see Cincinnati put another shot on target.

Inter Miami CF beat FC Cincinnati 5-3 on Wednesday night, scoring the final three goals after trailing 2-1 and 3-2 in the second half. Messi scored twice and assisted Silvetti's equalizer, and Miami turned an eight-goal circus into its second straight win.

A Lead, a Lead, Then a Landslide

Miami had the early pressure. Yannick Bright headed a Messi corner off the crossbar in the 18th minute, and six minutes later Messi put the visitors ahead with a right-footed finish from the middle of the box into the bottom left corner. MLSsoccer.com described it as Messi redirecting a botched clearance, which is the most Messi way possible to score an ugly one.

Cincinnati answered from the spot. Kévin Denkey drew a foul from Gonzalo Luján in the box at 39 minutes and sent the penalty into the bottom left corner two minutes later. It was 1-1 at the half.

The second half started like a Cincinnati highlight package. In the 49th minute, Bryan Ramírez set up Pavel Bucha, who smashed a finish from the right side of the six-yard box into the top right corner. Messi drew Miami level six minutes later, meeting a Rodrigo De Paul cross with a left-footed finish from the middle of the box. Then Evander ripped Cincinnati back in front in the 64th minute, running onto a Denkey ball on the break and blasting a shot from outside the box into the high center of the net.

That's where it turned. Silvetti came on for Luis Suárez at 77 minutes and needed two minutes to make it 3-3, finishing a Messi pass into the bottom right corner. In the 84th, Berterame bundled home a close-range finish off a set piece. At 89 minutes, Messi's right-footed shot hit the right post and went in off Celentano for an own goal that put the bow on it.

Messi Brought the Thunder

Lionel Messi finished with two goals, an assist, six shots and three on target, and he delivered the corner that Bright headed off the bar. MLSsoccer.com reports he now has 11 goals and five assists this season, leads MLS in goal contributions and sits one goal off the Golden Boot lead. Over his last three matches, he has four goals and five assists. That isn't a hot streak. That's a weather system.

Miami's interim coach, Guillermo Hoyos, was in no mood to undersell his team. "It's brilliant what they did today," Hoyos said, per MLSsoccer.com. "It was an incredible game with ups and downs. We are very happy and comfortable that we can play football at a high level."

Mateo Silvetti made his cameo count, scoring with his only shot two minutes after entering. Germán Berterame did the same with his only attempt of the night.

On the other side, Evander was Cincinnati's best attacker: a goal from distance, three shots and a constant threat between the lines. The club says he has now scored in three consecutive matches. Kévin Denkey scored his 30th career goal for the club, per Cincinnati, and assisted Evander's go-ahead goal. Pavel Bucha reached 15 goals for the club with his finish, according to FC Cincinnati.

The Silvetti Switch

The substitution at 77 minutes changed the night. Cincinnati had just made three changes in a two-minute span, swapping out Miles Robinson, Kenji Mboma Dem and Matt Miazga, and was trying to manage a one-goal lead. Miami answered by sending on Silvetti, and two minutes later he was wheeling away after finishing Messi's pass.

Once it was 3-3, Miami kept coming. De Paul and Telasco Segovia both had shots blocked in the 82nd minute, and two minutes later Berterame scored. Andrei Chirila, who had entered at 73 minutes, went off injured at 87, and the hosts never found their footing again. Messi's post-and-in in the 89th minute was just the final indignity.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Miami took 17 shots to Cincinnati's 10 and put five on target. Cincinnati put three on target and scored on all three.
• Saves: Celentano made one. Miami's Dayne St. Clair didn't make any.
• Corners: Miami won eight. Cincinnati won one.
• Tackles: Miami attempted 32 and won 21. Cincinnati attempted 14 and won seven.
• Possession: Miami held 53.5 percent of the ball.

What It Means

Miami moves to 7-4-2 with 25 points. MLSsoccer.com had the Herons second in the Eastern Conference after the win, two points behind Nashville SC, with two games left before the World Cup break. It was Miami's seventh road win of the season, and the defending MLS Cup champions host the Portland Timbers on Sunday.

Cincinnati falls to 4-4-5 with 16 points. The loss snaps a six-match unbeaten run that included draws at Toronto, at New York City FC and at Charlotte, a 3-3 draw with Chicago at home and wins over Red Bull New York and at Chicago. Pat Noonan's side heads west to face San Diego FC on Saturday, a first-ever meeting between the clubs, per FC Cincinnati.

The Encore Nobody in Cincinnati Ordered

Cincinnati did a lot right. It scored on every shot on target, led twice in the second half and got a vintage Evander rocket in front of a sellout crowd. And it still lost by two, because the other team has Messi and Messi had a finale planned. Hoyos summed it up neatly. "There are players that truly improve and make the league better," he said. On Wednesday, Cincinnati found out the hard way.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by MLSsoccer.com; additional notes from FC Cincinnati's official match recap.