Lionel Messi received the Golden Boot trophy ahead of Inter Miami’s Major League Soccer (MLS) play-off opener against Nashville. The 38-year-old proved why he deserved the award as he recorded two

Inter Miami’s playoff opener against Nashville was sparsely attended in an example of what has become a wider trend.

Lionel Messi scored two goals to lead Inter Miami over Nashville SC 3-1 in Game 1 of the first round of the MLS playoffs.

Inter Miami start Lionel Messi was presented his Major League Soccer Golden Boot Award by commissioner Don Garber during a brief, on-field ceremony prior to Game 1 of the first-round playoff series against Nashville SC.

Messi opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the Major League Soccer playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night.

Messi magic in Game One! 💥 What a start for @InterMiamiCF. // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/6ugOORVHGT Miami were able to ride that goal to a halftime lead, which put them 45 minutes closer to defeating Nashville SC in this best-of-three series,

Messi was named a finalist for the MVP award Thursday along with Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga, San Diego’s Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC), Cincinnati’s Evander and Nashville’s Sam Surridge. The award is expected to be handed out before the MLS Cup final on Dec. 6.

Fresh off winning the MLS Golden Boot and being named a finalist for MLS MVP, Messi opened the scoring for the Herons in the 19th minute with a diving header off a cross from longtime teammate Luis Suárez, showcasing the 38-year-old’s off-ball smarts with deceiving runs into the box.

El astro argentino abrió el marcador con una palomita en el primer tiempo y cerró la cuenta a los 96 minutos, para que el Inter Miami iniciara los playoffs de la MLS con una victoria de 3-1 sobre Nashville en el primer partido de un máximo de tres, en su serie de primera ronda de la Conferencia Este..

Former Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez proved themselves decisive in getting Inter Miami’s playoff campaign up and running in positive fashion in the early hours of Saturday.The