Messi Free-Kick Golazo Can't Save Miami in Late Columbus Stunner

Lionel Messi bent in a sensational free kick from an almost impossible angle on Sunday night — and still ended up on the losing side. Columbus Crew struck in the 98th minute to beat Inter Miami 2-1 in front of a record crowd.

A free kick from an absurd angle

In the 33rd minute at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, Lionel Messi lined up a free kick wide on the right wing, roughly seven yards off the end line. Everyone in the stadium — including most of the Columbus defence — expected a cross. Messi went for goal instead.

His left foot sent the ball curling over a two-man wall, over a crowd of players and past the outstretched hand of Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, into the far side of the net. The attempt carried an expected-goals value of just 3%, and the goal made the whole stadium buzz. It cancelled out Josef Martínez's 28th-minute penalty and made it 1-1.

“To share the pitch with him is definitely incredible, but I'd rather him not score on me and have that badge of honor, rather than the other way around,” Schulte said afterwards. “But I'm honestly just glad to come away with three points at the end of the day.”

A 107-minute thriller decided at the death

The drama started early. Martínez's opener came from a penalty awarded after video review — Yannick Bright had pulled him down inside the area — and Messi led a group of Miami players protesting the call before teammate Carlos Casemiro was shown a yellow card. Chippy play and skirmishes carried through the night, with officials showing six yellows to Miami and four to the Crew.

Miami even had a second-half goal ruled out when substitute David Ayala was flagged fractionally offside, and Columbus twice hit the woodwork through Moroccan signing Anass Zaroury. Then came the late chaos: Miami substitute Santiago Morales picked up two yellow cards within four minutes in stoppage time and was dismissed, leaving the visitors a man short. Moments later, goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo could only parry Brais Méndez's curling effort, and substitute Jamal Thiaré lashed home the rebound to win it in the 98th minute.

The ending had one more twist. A whistle blown near the end of added time was mistaken by the crowd and the game operations crew, who fired off celebratory fireworks prematurely; the real final whistle came less than a minute later, completing a match that lasted about 107 minutes including added time.

“We [knew this game] was very important,” Martínez said. “It's a difficult game, but we [had] to fight until the end. You see that we needed 100 minutes and we have that luck, and we [scored], so that's the way we have to fight.”

What the result means for both clubs

The win was Columbus's second straight in MLS and came in front of a record sellout crowd of 21,188. It moved the Crew to 29 points and closed the gap to four points between them and the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Crew interim coach Laurent Courtois praised his side's composure: “I'm really pleased with the way they had each other's back, especially facing that type of environment with the referee and what Miami likes to create in between plays [complaining about calls]. So, credit to the guys to keep their head on their shoulders and not lose it.”

For Inter Miami, the defeat extended a miserable run to just one win in their last 10 league matches, despite Messi delivering in front of goal almost every week. The MLS Cup holders sit third in the Eastern Conference but trail leaders Nashville by 14 points with seven games of the regular season remaining.

Messi's numbers keep piling up

The free kick was Messi's 21st league goal of the season, extending his lead in the MLS Golden Boot race to three goals over FC Dallas striker Petar Musa — and his 12th direct free-kick goal for Inter Miami in all competitions, his sixth this season. He also leads MLS in assists with 13.

It was his fourth goal in his last four matches with Inter Miami, a run that included his 100th goal for the club in the Campeones Cup win over Liga MX's Cruz Azul on 16 September. At 39, days before his Argentina farewell, Messi continues to produce moments nobody else in the league can.

One last Miami memory before the farewell

“Ahead of his farewell to the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi continued to show he has plenty to offer,” noted the match coverage — and the timing mattered. This was Miami's last competitive outing before the international break, and Messi has since flown home to Rosario to begin the final countdown to Tuesday's farewell against Benin at the Monumental.

The 2-1 scoreline will fade; the image of that left foot bending a 3%-xG free kick into the far corner will not. Miami fans in Ohio got one last piece of Messi magic before their captain flies home to say goodbye.

Questions people ask

All of our farewell coverage is on Argentina vs Benin.