Those wondering if Lionel Messi would play against the Crew on Sept. 27 learned the answer before the Inter Miami superstar stepped foot onto the field at sold-out ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
Messi started, scored a gorgeous goal and played a full game, but the Crew won their third straight MLS game with a thrilling 2-1 victory in front of 21,188 who watched Jamal Thiaré score the winner in the 98th minute with Miami down a man for a red card violation.
The victory gives the Crew the edge over Miami in the season series, which started with a 2-2 draw at Nu Stadium on Aug. 1 in Miami. Columbus also moved to 29 points with the win, which closes the gap to four points between them and the final playoff spot in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Josef Martinez
scored the Crew's first goal in the first half on a penalty kick for a 1-0 lead and Messi tied it 1-1 with a goal off a free kick about five minutes later. The game stayed 1-1 at the half, but chippy play that started in the first half increased in the second half, including Miami's Santiago Morales getting ejected for picking up a second yellow card in the sixth minute of added time.
Thiare, who's been injured most of the season, scored two minutes later off Brais Mendez's rebound to give the Crew a late 2-1 lead.
In the first half, Martinez put the Crew up 1-0 in the 28th minute by scoring off a penalty kick awarded by video review. Prior to the goal, Messi led a group of Miami players in protesting the call before his teammate, Carlos Casemiro, was shown the yellow card.
The call and resulting goal appeared to light a spark for Miami, which tied it 1-1 five minutes later on Messi's goal off a free kick from the right wing. The goal, which was assigned an expected goal percentage of just 3%, traveled from Messi's left foot over a near wall of two Crew defenders before zipping over a crowd of players near the goal that included goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
The keeper's outstretched hand missed the ball by mere inches as it bent into the goal from a sharp angle out of Messi's location 10 yards outside the box. It was a classic Messi goal that sent the entire stadium into a celebratory uproar.
Dispatch Blue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew stun Inter Miami, Messi in 2-1 thriller decided late
