With a brilliant performance from Lionel Messi, Inter Miami defeated Portland 2-0 at Nu Stadium this Sunday, in the 14th round of the 2026 MLS season, and now leads the Eastern Conference of American soccer.
Messi himself opened the scoring in the 31st minute after a great team play by the Florida side. And Berterame, in the 42nd minute, was assisted by Messi after a brilliant individual effort to extend the lead.
The Argentine star was the man of the match and the creator of all the dangerous plays for Guillermo Angel Hoyos’s team.
The Herons, in fact, were considered heavy favorites given the teams’ positions in the standings. They are currently 3rd overall and needed a win to take the lead in their conference, while Phil Neville’s squad is 21st overall and 12th in the Western Conference.
Inter had started stronger and showed it after just 4 minutes. Messi carried the ball forward, passed to Suárez, and delivered a perfect cross that he met, forcing a brilliant reflex save from goalkeeper James Pantemis. But the number 10 was creating danger with ease.
In the 14th minute, he was close to scoring again. Rodrigo De Paul carried the ball forward, assisted Suárez, but the striker couldn’t convert in a one-on-one with Pantemis.
Then, in the 31st minute, Messi produced a moment of magic and the game opened up: he received the ball on the edge of the box, played it to Suárez on his left, the Uruguayan played it in the middle for Telasco Segovia, and the Venezuelan returned a spectacular backheel pass to Messi, who finished from close range with a low, angled shot to score his goal.
In the 38th minute, he came very close to making it 2-0. A long pass from De Paul put him one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his right-footed shot went just wide.
But in the 42nd minute, the deadlock was broken, once again thanks to Messi. The number 10 began to dribble past opponents from the edge of the box and played a pass into the middle for Berterame, who, almost at the penalty spot, fired a low, angled shot to make it 2-0.
The goal gave Inter Miami the advantage they needed and allowed them to control the tempo of the game. The pace slowed in the second half, although Hoyos’ team never faced any real danger, and Portland never came close to pulling one back. The three points went to Las Garzas, who overtook Nashville SC at the top of the Conference and now lead the standings, albeit having played two more games.
