WATCH: Lionel Messi and Inter Miami teammates celebrate Supporters’ Shield triumph inside dressing room as footage emerges
Lionel Messi's Inter Miami teammates celebrated as the club celebrated their first Supporters' Shield win on Wednesday (October 2) following a 3-2 MLS win at Columbus.
The 37-year-old played a key role in the triumph, bagging a first-half brace, including a sumptuous free-kick to put the Herons 2-0 in front at the break. After Diego Rossi had puled one back a minute into the second half, Luis Suarez restored Tata Martino's side's lead two minutes later.
Rudy Camacho reduced the arrears in the 63rd minute after Cucho Hernandez' missed penalty two minutes earlier, but Miami held on to seal their second title, with their 2023 Leagues Cup win being their first.
The Herons shared a video of the team celebrating their triumph in the locker room, captioning it:
"Campeoness (Champions)"
The Supporters' Shield is awarded to the MLS team with the best record in the regular season. The Herons - with 68 points from 32 games - have an unassailable 11-point lead over second-placed Columbus, who have a game in hand.
Martino's side will have home advantage in the play-offs, the schedule for which is yet to be announced, against the winner of the Eastern Conference play-off matchup between the No. 8 and 9 seeds. The Herons will host the first game at home; the series will return to the Chase Stadium if it's tied at 1-1.
How Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi has fared in his first full MLS season
Lionel Messi has had an injury-plagued first full campaign with MLS side Inter Miami, whom he had joined last summer on a free transfer following nearly two decades in European football.
Since returning from a two-month injury-enforced layoff after sustaining an ankle injury in Argentina's 1-0 extra time win over Colombia in the 2024 Copa America final, Messi has been on a tear.
In five MLS games, Messi has registered five goals and an assist, bagging braces against Philadelphia and Columbus, with the Herons going unbeaten, winning two, with their Columbus win ending a three-game drawing streak.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has 19 goals and 12 assists in 20 games across competitions for the Herons this season. Most of those goal contrbutions - 17 goals and 10 assists in 17 games - have come in MLS, where Martino's side seek a first league title after clinching the Supporters' Shield, Messi's record-extending 46th career title for club and country.