Lionel Messi produced a devastating hat-trick as Inter Miami overpowered Nashville SC 5–2 to lock up an MLS Cup playoff berth and a top-three finish in the Eastern Conference.

The Argentine put Miami ahead on 34 minutes, collecting a Jordi Alba pass and wrong-footing his marker before bending a left-footed shot into the bottom corner from outside the box. 

Nashville hit back when Sam Surridge headed in Hany Mukhtar’s cross on 43 minutes, and Jacob Shaffelburg pounced in first-half stoppage time after a Mukhtar effort came back off the post to make it 2–1. 

Miami turned the match after the interval. A handball by Nashville right-back Andy Nájar yielded a 63rd-minute penalty that Messi converted—his first spot-kick goal of the league campaign—to level at 2–2. 

Four minutes later, Baltasar Rodríguez swept Miami in front, and Messi completed his treble on 81 minutes with another precise left-footer through traffic. Telasco Segovia added the fifth in added time to seal an emphatic victory. 

The result leaves Inter Miami third in the East and sets up a first-round playoff series against sixth-seeded Nashville. 

Messi’s hat-trick takes his regular-season tally to 29 goals in 28 matches, putting him well clear at the top of the Golden Boot race and underpinning a strong MVP case. 

SMS/