Inter Miami clinched Major League Soccer’s regular season title Wednesday, and the primary reason for their supremacy was, and is, of course, Lionel Messi.
Messi has transformed Miami from “a team that habitually lost for years,” as head coach Tata Martino recently said, to “a team that habitually wins,” and to perhaps the greatest MLS team ever.
He helped beat the Columbus Crew, the reigning MLS champs, on Wednesday with two goals out of nowhere. The first unshackled a tight, choppy game. The second, a trademark free kick five minutes later, stunned the Crew and left a sold-out crowd in awe.