Lionel Messi played the entire game on artificial turf in Inter Miami’s season finale, and Charlotte FC qualified for the MLS playoffs with a 1-0 victory on Saturday night.
Messi shared the spotlight with Charlotte's bid to qualify for the postseason on the last day of the regular season in a game that drew 66,101 at Charlotte's 74,000-seat Bank of America Stadium.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s top player went the distance in the meaningless game for Miami, which had already been eliminated from playoff contention. He finished with three shots and had two scoring chances. Messi's apparent goal in the 49th minute was negated by an offside call, and his shot in the 62nd minute bounded off the crossbar.
Kerwin Vargas’ goal in the 13th minute was enough to seal the historic victory, and Charlotte held Miami without a goal down the stretch in a season in which it has yielded many late-game goals. Messi had 11 goals in 14 matches with Miami this season. The team has gone 8-2-4 when he plays; seven of those matches were on the team’s run to win its first-ever trophy by claiming the Leagues Cup championship. He has also appeared in six MLS games, starting four times and scoring one goal. He also played in one U.S. Open Cup semifinal.
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