Messi scores twice, but Inter Miami defensive woes continue on road at Cincinnati
Lionel Messi scored twice, but Inter Miami’s defensive woes continued as FC Cincinnati took a 3-2 second-half lead at TQL Stadium on Wednesday night.
Miami has conceded nine goals in the past three games.
Messi (and the Inter Miami attack) miss the telepathy, and pinpoint passes, the Argentine star shared with former teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, the Spanish legends who retired after the 2025 MLS Cup championship.
And, at the start of this season, Messi was also forced to play without the fourth member of the former FC Barcelona quartet because Uruguayan standout Luis Suarez was relegated to the bench.
But ever since interim coach Guillermo Hoyos replaced Javier Mascherano, who resigned seven games into the season, Suarez’s playing time increased. He got his fourth start in a row on Wednesday night for the road game against FC Cincinnati.
Although Suarez is 39 years old and not as swift as he once was, his chemistry with Messi is undeniable.
They nearly combined for a goal five minutes into Wednesday’s game, but Messi was caught off side. Messi wound up scoring in the 24th minute, but it was not on a link-up with a teammate. Instead, he scored off a mistake by Cincinnati defender Matt Miazga, who tried to clear a ball near the front of the goal and instead Messi charged in and the ball bounced off his leg into the back of the net.
Kevin Denkey scored the equalizer for Cincinnati at the 41-minute mark on a penalty kick after Miami center back Gonzalo Lujan was called for a questionable foul in the box. Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, one of the league’s best PK stoppers, got his left glove on the shot, but it ricocheted in. It was Denkey’s eighth goal of the season.
The teams went into halftime knotted 1-1.
As they have done many times before, Inter Miami players took a long time to come out of the locker room for the second half while the home team waited at midfield and fans began to grow restless.
Four minutes later, Cincinnati took a 2-1 lead after an unmarked Pavel Bucha scored from close range. He collected a crossing pass from Bryan Ramirez, who also was loosely covered, a defensive lapse from a Miami back line that has been porous all season.
Messi (who else?) came to the rescue at the 55-minute mark with a left-footed equalizer on a cross from Rodrigo De Paul. His teammates swarmed the captain for a celebration, but the pink party was shortlived.
Cincinnati’s Brazilian playmaker Evander, a two-time runner-up for MLS MVP, electrified the home crowd with a blast of a shot from outside the box to the upper left corner to give their team a 3-2 lead. It was Evander’s seventh goal in the past six games. Denkey got the play started on a fast break.
The rest of the Miami starters were right back Ian Fray, center back Micael, left back Sergio Reguilon, midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, midfielder Yannick Bright, midfielder Telasco Segovia, and forward German Berterame.
The last time Inter Miami faced Cincinnati was in the 2025 Eastern Conference Semifinals, where Miami eliminated FCC at TQL Stadium on the road to the MLS Cup title.
Miami won that match 4-0 with goals by Messi, Mateo Silvetti and a brace by Tadeo Allende, who did not travel to Wednesday’s game as he deals with knee inflammation. Noah Allen (groin) did not make the trip, either.
Inter Miami was coming off a 4-2 road victory at Toronto FC and was tied for second in the East, with a conference-high 26 goals. The men in pink have been dominant on the road with a 6-1-1 record.
Cincinnati was unbeaten in six straight games (two wins, four ties) and 5-1-1 at home. The team ranked second in the East with 24 goals but has allowed 27 goals to Miami’s 21.
The Orange and Blue were coming off a 2-2 draw at Charlotte FC that featured goals from Designated Players Evander and Kevin Denkey. Evander, the Brazilian playmaker, scored a spectacular goal against Charlotte and had a hat track at Chicago the week before.
Denkey leads Cincinnati with seven goals.
This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 8:38 PM.