Lionel Messi's scoring streak ends in Miami loss to Cincinnati - ESPN

Lionel Messi's MLS record streak of scoring two goals in a game ended at five as Inter Miami lost 3-0 to host FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night.

On the other side, the home team's All-Star midfielder Evander kept a streak of his own going and set a Cincinnati record by scoring in a fifth consecutive match.

As time ran down on the win for Cincinnati, chants of MVP could be heard coming from the stands at TQL Stadium in Ohio, but they were for the club's hometown hero Evander, not World Cup winner and Argentina legend Messi.

«Yes, I think we were clearly outclassed today,» Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. «From the start of the match, we struggled a lot, especially in the individual encounters, to win. Perhaps one of the reasons is that we were physically very stressed, and in the long run, that ends up costing us.

»Unfortunately, we didn't play the game we wanted from the start. They put us under pressure all the time. We struggled, we weren't fresh, we couldn't be sharp, and well, the truth is, they beat us very well."

Evander's left-footed shot from the center of the box found the bottom right corner of the net to double Cincinnati's lead early in the second half after Gerardo Valenzuela had put the hosts up in the first half.

It was the first of two goals Evander scored in the second half, after coming up empty on multiple shots in the first. The two goals bring his goal total to 15 in MLS regular-season competition.

Miami's offensive struggles — combined with Cincinnati's stellar back line — also spelled the end of the Herons' five-match winning streak as last year's Supporters' Shield winners were handed their first regular-season loss since May 18.

«Obviously, I'm worried about losing,» Mascherano