In a truly theatrical affair, Inter Miami maintained their winning ways, securing a 5–3 win over FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night in front of a sell-out crowd at TQL Stadium.
The game in Cincinnati, Ohio was anticipated to be action-packed and goal-filled, bringing together the two highest-scoring teams in the Eastern Conference. It certainly did not disappoint, featuring a hat trick for Lionel Messi—the third hat trick of his MLS career, which brings his total career goals to a whopping 910.
The Argentinian legend opened the inevitable scoring frenzy. He charged the box and punished a mistake from flustered Cincinnati center back Matt Miazga, blasting the ball past goalkeeper Roman Celentano in the 24th minute. The first half was relatively quiet thereafter, until Cincinnati star striker Kévin Denkey nailed in a penalty kick in the 41st minute.
The match quickly became a dramatic back-and-forth battle in the second half, though, seeing the hosts return from the break firing on all cylinders to take a 2–1 lead, before Messi took personal offense and bit back to equalize eight minutes later.
Cincinnati’s star player Evander sent the crowd into an eruption of cheers with his perfect-picture upper-90 finish from outside of the box, which gave the hosts the lead yet again in the 64th minute, 3–2. Fans in blue and orange surely thought they would leave home happy, but Inter Miami added three more thereafter to prove them wrong, including a Germán Berterame volley off of a wild collision between Cincinnati’s goalkeeper and center back and Messi’s third of the night in the 89th minute.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s breakdown of the match, featuring report card grades for each Inter Miami player who saw the pitch.
Inter Miami Report Card vs. FC Cincinnati (4-3-3)
GK: Dayne St. Clair—D-: The Canadian impressively got a full palm on Kévin Denkey’s penalty kick before it went in, but Cincinnati completely overpowered him in the second half.
RB: Ian Fray—B: Back from injury, after missing the Toronto match at the weekend. Did well to get up the right flank and into the attack, allowing Messi to slide centrally into dangerous positions.
CB: Gonzalo Luján—C-: Replacing Maxi Falcón once again in an effort to shore up the defensive outlook, he proved to be a much more stable, consistent option in the Herons’ backline. Gave up the penalty kick, though, after tugging on the jersey of star striker Denkey.
CB: Micael—C-: The Brazilian center back struggled in his communication with Reguilón, with the duo often overwhelmed by the creativity of Denkey and Evander or simply not stepping to them early enough.
LB: Sergio Reguilón—D: Made just his third start in league play this season after plagued with a series of knocks earlier in the season. Looked a bit out of sorts, especially in the early minutes while trying to contain Denkey, but soon settled in. Left Bucha unmarked on the back-post though, leading to Cincinnati’s second goal.
RM: Rodrigo De Paul—B: Rodrigo De Paul’s efforts to make the Argentina World Cup squad continued on Wednesday. The 31-year-old looked agile and explosive. He frequently got into the attack, despite his typical defensive positioning.
CM: Yannick Bright—C: Continuing to take on a more central role in the 4-3-3 as De Paul shifts to the right. He looked overwhelmed by Evander’s offensive prowess at times.
LM: Telasco Segovia—A: Dynamic through the middle and everywhere on the pitch. He combined well with Bright and De Paul and made up for Suárez’s lack of mobility on the left flank.
RW: Lionel Messi—A+: Third straight match with at least three goal contributions. Third hat trick of his MLS career.
ST: Germán Berterame—C: Germán Berterame was largely ineffective in this match. Often forgot he was even there, until he capitalized on Cincinnati’s fateful collision.
LW: Luis Suárez—D: Looked largely immobile, but had a few bursts of speedy brilliance. They were to no avail, though.
SUB: Facundo Mura (65’ for Reguilón)—C: Provided much needed relief from Reguilón.
SUB: Mateo Silvetti (76’ for Suárez)—A+: Returned from a hamstring injury. Needed just three minutes to prove how much Inter Miami missed him.
Subs not used: Rocco Ríos Novo (GK), Maxi Falcón, Cesar Abadia-Reda, David Ruiz, David Ayala, Preston Plambeck, Dániel Pintér.
One Thing We Can’t Ignore
Although Inter Miami ultimately secured the win, Wednesday marked the third consecutive game in which they let their guard down after an early lead, seemingly an unfortunate habit they are developing, and one that makes their lives much harder than they need to be.
The habit was first—and most brutally—on display in Inter Miami’s humiliating 4–3 loss to Orlando City on May 2. The South Florida side led 3–0 by the 33rd minute, but were soon completely overtaken by the usually-underperforming Central Florida side, after consecutive moments of complacency and carelessness.
Although Inter Miami did secure a 4–2 win against Toronto FC in their following outing over the weekend, that match was likewise plagued by late carelessness. They had a dominant 4–0 lead up until the 82nd minute, but once again lost focus, allowing the Canadian side to nail two in the final eight minutes of the game.
The squad in pink will need to hone in on the mental side of their game and tighten up on defense if they have any desire of winning back-to-back MLS Cup titles this fall.
What’s Next For Inter Miami?
Inter Miami head back to South Florida for the last two games before the 2026 FIFA World Cup international break. Still desperately seeking their first win at Nu Stadium since the permanent home base opened in early April, they first welcome the Portland Timbers on Sunday, followed by another shot at home victory against the Philadelphia Union the following week.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Grading Inter Miami’s Theatrical Win Over FC Cincinnati As Messi Records Hat Trick.
