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Nashville SC's 15-game unbeaten streak comes to end in Inter Miami's win behind Lionel Messi
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- Nashville SC's 15-game unbeaten streak comes to end in Inter Miami's win behind Lionel Messi
Nashville SC headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in hopes of keeping its 15-game unbeaten streak alive.
But the streak had to stop at some point, and it did July 12 in front of the Inter Miami fans at Chase Stadium, where two goals from Lionel Messi pushed Inter Miami past Nashville SC 2-1.
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"The reality is, since they were a team that has not lost in 15 games, they were coming in with a very, very good team dynamic," Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said.
Inter Miami got on the board first. Messi was able to score on a free kick, keeping it low, sending it through the wall and finding the bottom left corner.
That was the only action in the first 45 minutes, with Nashville SC not even getting a shot on goal.
"When Miami has the ball, it's dangerous," Nashville SC coach BJ Callaghan said. "There are a lot of dangerous players out there."
Right after halftime, NSC was able to tie it up in the 49th minute. Andy Nájar crossed it in from the right side of the box, finding Hany Mukhtar , who headed it in from the center of the 6-yard box to the bottom right corner, tying the game 1-1.
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Not much later, a mishap would strike. Nashville SC goalkeeper Joe Willis attempted to clear it, keeping a slow rolling ball on the ground in the direction of Messi.
The Inter Miami star stepped in, and with Willis on the ground trying to recover, no one stood between Messi and the goal. He was able to boot it in for his second goal of the game at the 62nd minute, putting Inter Miami back in front 2-1.
"When we started the season, we didn't talk about winning streaks, we talked about wanting to establish ourselves, our style of play, how we play and how we act on and off the field," Callaghan said. "We want to make the MLS playoffs and compete for trophies. Throughout this period of time, we've been able to put ourselves in the opportunity to earn those objectives."
The matchup had the two players who have scored the most goals in the league this season: Nashville SC's Sam Surridge , who has 16, and Messi, who went into the game with 14.
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Messi's two goals extended his record to five consecutive multi-goal games.
This was the first match between the two clubs this season, and they will face each other one more time at Geodis Park in Nashville on Oct. 18.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami beat Nashville SC 2-1, unbeaten streak ends
