Lionel Messi's first start since burying his father produced almost nothing he wanted: a penalty saved, a yellow card picked up in frustration, and a lopsided road defeat that piled fresh weight onto the heaviest stretch of his personal life in years.
Inter Miami trailed 1-0 at Geodis Park when Nashville defender Andy Nájar rose to head the hosts in front in the 17th minute. Six minutes later, Miami got a lifeline: Luis Suárez was hauled down inside the box on a one-on-one chance set up by a Casemiro pass, handing Messi a chance to level things from the spot.
He couldn't convert it. Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake guessed correctly and pushed the low shot away. Sergio Reguilón pounced on the loose ball and stuffed it into the net moments later, only for video review to strip the goal after officials ruled Miami players had crept into the box early. It marked the first time since 2014 that Messi has gone three straight spot-kicks without scoring, per ESPN — a stretch that began with misses against Austria and Egypt at this summer's World Cup, and stood as his first missed penalty in MLS play since September 2025.
Miami didn't fold immediately. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Messi slid a pass through Nashville's defense and Telasco Segovia finished it to make the score 1-1 heading into the break.
Nashville Pulls Away While Messi Boils Over
Any hope of a full turnaround died early in the second half. Hany Mukhtar restored the hosts' lead in the 49th minute, and the game slipped further from Miami's grasp when Sam Surridge added a backheeled finish in the 56th after Miami's players felt a foul had gone uncalled in the buildup. Messi's protest over that non-call earned him a yellow card in the 59th minute.
Nashville wasn't finished. In the 63rd minute, Schwake launched a long ball over Miami's back line toward a sprinting Mukhtar — and Miami keeper Rocco Ríos Novo, caught well outside his own box, slipped trying to scramble back and had no chance of stopping it. Mukhtar rolled the ball into an empty net to complete his brace and make it 4-1.
Messi's night still had one more twist left. In second-half stoppage time, he struck the frame of the goal twice on a single attack without the ball crossing the line, then watched a follow-up effort chalked off for offside. It was a cruel coda to a night where almost nothing bounced his way.
Grief Shaped the Buildup to This Game
Saturday was Messi's first MLS start since his father and longtime agent, Jorge Messi, died on August 8 at a medical clinic in Rosario, Argentina, at age 68, following an illness that had lingered through this summer's World Cup. Messi flew home that same weekend and missed Miami's Leagues Cup match against Monterrey while attending a private funeral service.
He didn't stay away long. Just four days after his father's death, Messi rejoined the squad and came off the bench in a Leagues Cup elimination match against Club León — a game Miami led 1-0 at the break before losing 3-2, ending its run in the tournament. Teammate Yannick Bright said the group hadn't expected to see him back so soon: "It's incredible. I wasn't expecting it, and it shows how much he cares."
Earlier that same day, Messi had posted a tribute to his father, writing that he didn't know how he'd manage without him and that he now had real doubts about continuing to play much longer. Jorge Messi had guided his son's career and business affairs since Lionel was a teenager training in Barcelona.
The loss leaves Nashville alone atop the Eastern Conference on 43 points, five ahead of Miami's 38, and it's now three straight defeats across all competitions for the defending MLS champions — following the Monterrey and León losses in the Leagues Cup. It also snapped what had been a six-match unbeaten MLS run for Miami and kept Nashville undefeated at home this season.
Afterward, Miami manager Guillermo Hoyos struck a defiant note rather than sounding any alarm: "A defeat like this won't stop us; we keep growing." He pointed to the emotional toll the squad had carried into the match, adding that the result shouldn't overshadow what the group showed on the field.
With the Leagues Cup already over and the World Cup final loss to Spain a month behind him, Messi's focus now turns fully to the MLS regular season, where Miami is chasing back the Supporters' Shield it last won in 2024. The more immediate challenge is simpler to state than to solve: finding his footing from twelve yards again, while adjusting to a life and a career his father is no longer part of.
