Lionel Messi scores twice as Inter Miami defeat Rapids in MLS

Lionel Messi scores twice as Inter Miami defeat Rapids in MLSArgentine forward’s brace included the match winner against Colorado Rapids in front of over 75,000 fans in Denver.Lionel Messi scored a brace and ‌German Berterame headed another as Inter Miami earned a ⁠3-2 win over ⁠the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer (MLS) on Saturday in Denver.Messi scored the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute. He started a run just inside midfield and went ⁠unchallenged until the box, where he blasted into the upper left corner for a 3-2 lead.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4NBA: Doncic-less Lakers shock Rockets to take West playoff series openerlist 2 of 4Real Sociedad defeat Atletico Madrid to win Copa del Rey trophylist 3 of 4Manchester United beat Chelsea as Cunha strike boosts Champions League hopelist 4 of 4As Arsenal and Man City battle, could the Premier League end in a playoff?end of listRafael Navarro and Darren Yapi each scored for Colorado (4-4-0, 12 points) in front of 75,824 at Empower Field, the second-largest crowd in MLS history.Miami (4-1-3, 15 points) took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute after Colorado goalkeeper Zack Steffen’s pass was intercepted by Yannick Bright. Josh Atencio offered a hard challenge ‌and was shown a yellow card after video review.Messi took the resulting penalty and rolled his shot straight down the middle as Miami took a 1-0 lead.Colorado had a solid look at the goal when midfielder Wayne Frederick attempted a one-touch lob. Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was out of position and well beyond the penalty arc after heading away a loose ball, but Frederick’s attempt sailed ⁠over the open net.In the fifth minute of first-half stoppage ⁠time, Miami extended their lead to 2-0, connecting on a series of passes deep in their attacking third. Messi got the run of play started with a tight touch pass to Rodrigo De ⁠Paul.De Paul sent Mateo Silvetti on a run to the boundary line. His inward-spinning cross floated to the front of ⁠goal, where Berterame rose above the Colorado defence and ⁠tucked a header under the bar.