MIAMI — Leo Messi scored his 12th goal of the MLS regular season and added an assist as Inter Miami CF defeated the Portland Timbers 2-0 for the club’s historic first victory at Nu Stadium.
The win pushed Inter Miami to 8-2-4 on the season with 28 points. Messi opened the scoring in the 31st minute, finishing a sequence that began with Luis Suárez playing a ball to midfielder Telasco Segovia, whose backheel pass found the captain in the center of the box for a left-footed strike. The assist was Segovia’s eighth of the league campaign, keeping him atop the team’s assist leaderboard.
Germán Berterame doubled the lead in the 42nd minute with a first-time right-footed finish to the bottom-left corner from inside the box, following a run and assist by Messi. The goal was Berterame’s fifth this regular season, while Messi recorded his sixth assist. With the assist, Messi has now recorded multiple goal contributions in each of his past four appearances.
Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair anchored the clean sheet with four saves, including a key intervention in the 78th minute to deny a header from Portland’s Kevin Kelsy. Inter Miami outshot Portland 22-16 and held an 8-5 edge in corner kicks, though the Timbers held a slight possession advantage at 50.8% to 49.2%.
Inter Miami’s starting back four featured Ian Fray, Gonzalo Luján, Micael and Sergio Reguilón, while Rodrigo De Paul and Yannick Bright joined Segovia in midfield. The match also featured the Inter Miami CF Academy’s Play It Forward activation in partnership with Ticketmaster, honoring Academy player Elliel Estrada for logging the most community service hours over the past month. Estrada was featured on Nu Stadium’s scoreboard and received a custom jersey and match tickets.
Inter Miami next hosts the Philadelphia Union at Nu Stadium on Sunday, May 24 at 7 p.m. ET.