Inter Miami's Lionel Messi scores fourth goal against Nashville SC in five matches

Nashville SC almost took a 2-0 lead inside of five minutes against Inter Miami, but Lionel Messi had other ideas.

Messi, no stranger to scoring against Nashville, found the net in the 11th minute of the team's MLS regular-season game Saturday night at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner now has scored four goals against Nashville, doing so in all but one game he has played against them.

Nashville took an early lead on an own goal when Dan Lovitz's corner kick deflected off an Inter Miami defender and into the net, and nearly made it 2-0 after Josh Bauer's attempt from inside the box hit the post. But Inter Miami survived Nashville's intense pressing and broke free in the 11th minute, the ball falling to Messi. Elliot Panicco stopped the initial attempt but the rebound bounced back to Messi.

Nashville (1-2-4, seven points) is looking to snap a three-game MLS winless streak and defeat Inter Miami for the first time since Messi joined the team in summer 2023. The Herons eliminated Nashville from the CONCACAF Champions Cup 5-3 on aggregate in the round of 16 in March, with Messi scoring goals in each leg of the series.

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lionel Messi: Inter Miami star scores against Nashville SC