Watch: Incredible Lionel Messi goal on last trip to Nashville

Inter Miami lifted the 2023 Leagues Cup at Nashville SC’s Geodis Park and the Argentine was at his unplayable best.

Inter Miami’s 2023 campaign was defined by the mid-season signing of Lionel Messi. His mere arrival brought new focus and new audiences to the team and the league as a whole, but it was on the field that his influence was most keenly felt.

Messi began life in Miami with a spell-binding string of performances in the Leagues Cup, a revamped competition between teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.

His performances drove Miami to the first trophy in team history and he ended as the competition’s top goalscorer and MVP. He struck ten goals in seven games, scoring in every one of Inter Miami’s fixtures in the competition. Most impressive of the lot, however, was the opening goal in the final against Nashville SC, played at their Geodis Park stadium.

Picking up a loose ball on the edge of the Nashville penalty box, the Argentine jinked past three defenders before bending a perfect left-footed shot into the top corner. It epitomised the very best of Lionel Messi, the deftness of movement and the ferocity of shot.

The hosts levelled the scores through Fafa Picault in the second half but the Herons were not to be denied their first piece of silverware. Messi scored in the penalty shoot-out and Miami went on to win 9-10 on penalties. On Thursday evening, in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Messi returns to Geodis Park to take on Nashville.

Inter Miami’s inaugural triumph, the 2023 Leagues Cup, served to underscore the incredible potential in this side. Messi has been joined by his former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez. The Herons have also strengthened with the off-season arrivals of Julian