Lionel Messi's arrival at Inter Miami, the MLS club co-owned by David Beckham, has already made waves in the league.
With three goals in just two appearances, Messi is hoping to lead Miami up the table and compete for the MLS Cup. Messi's debut for Miami came as a second-half substitute against Mexican club Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on July 21. In dramatic fashion, he scored the winning goal from a free-kick in stoppage time, securing a 2-1 victory.
This was followed by Messi's first start for the club against Atalanta United, where he scored two goals in a 4-0 win in the Leagues Cup on Tuesday evening. While the Leagues Cup has been the focus recently, attention will soon shift back to the MLS.
Miami's next league match is scheduled for August 21 against Charlotte FC. Beckham's franchise are currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with 18 points from 22 games - but they are only 12 points behind the playoffs with two games in hand.
To have a chance at winning the championship, Miami will need to make up the ground in their remaining 12 MLS matches. They have important games against strong Eastern Conference teams such as Cincinnati FC and Nashville SC while contesting the Florida derby against Orlando City on September 25.
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Ideally, Miami would like to finish in the top seven in the table to avoid the Wild Card stage of the playoffs. If they end up in the Wild Card stage, they would face the team that finishes either eighth or ninth.
The Wild Card match is scheduled for October 25 or 26. If they advance, Inter Miami will compete in a best-of-three playoff series against one of the top seven teams in the Eastern Conference with the games taking place between October 28 and November 12.
Lionel Messi scored two goals for Inter Miami against Atlanta United (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)If Miami and Messi progress further, there will be a nearly two-week break before the start of the Eastern Conference semifinals, scheduled between November 25 and December 3. Finally, the MLS Cup final against the winners of the Western Conference will be held on December 9.
Despite not playing a full 90 minutes yet, Messi has already made a significant impact with three goals for his new club. The Argentine star will be aiming to maintain his form and help Miami make a strong push for the MLS Cup this season.
This article was crafted with the help of AI tools, which speed up Mirror.co.uk ’s editorial research. A content editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to readercomplaints@reachplc.com .
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