Lionel Messi Scores Twice in Inter Miami’s Playoff Win After Raising Golden Boot

Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head.

Messi opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the Major League Soccer playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night.

Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, which now gets two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi's 2 1/2-year tenure with the team. Game 2 is at Nashville on Nov. 1. Game 3, if necessary, would in Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 8.

Hany Mukhtar got Nashville's goal off a free kick in the 101st minute. It was the final play of the match.

The win capped a big couple of days for Inter Miami, which announced Messi's three-year contract extension on Thursday.

"I don’t think we ever could have imagined that Leo would have been able to deliver for this club, for this city and for this league the way he has," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who presented Messi with the Golden Boot — the trophy presented to the league's top goal scorer — in a pregame ceremony.

"You know, he has reset the trajectory for Major League Soccer and we were already doing pretty well," Garber added. "And I think having three more years is just going to be another gift. Hopefully it’s the gift that keeps on giving."

Messi ducked behind a line of defenders for the header that opened the scoring in the 19th minute. Allende scored off a header as well in the 62nd minute, with Messi starting that play with a pass to Fray on the right wing. Fray chipped the ball into the middle of the box and Allende made the rest look easy.