backtoback

The Argentinian scored 26 goals in regular season, topping the charts and leading Inter Miami to the MLS Cup playoffs.

Lionel Messi has become the first player to win back-to-back Golden Boot awards in Major League Soccer after leading his club Inter Miami to a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

MLS defending champions Miami earned a wasteful 3-3 draw against Charlotte on the final day of the regular season on Saturday.

The Argentinian superstar did not score but set up the first two goals at Miami’s Nu Stadium, both from corners, to help secure home advantage for his club in the first two playoff rounds.

Ian Fray, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul racked up three first-half strikes for Inter Miami before Liel Abada’s brace soon after the break led to a comeback sealed by Rodolfo Aloko’s late strike.

Runaway overall leaders Nashville broke the all-time MLS points record for a season with a whopping 77 after beating Cincinnati 2-0. At 23-3 with eight draws, Nashville won the East and broke the mark of 74 points set by Miami in 2024.

Miami finished second in the East on 60 points as third-place New England failed to take advantage of Inter’s draw with a surprise 1-0 loss at Orlando to end on 58.

At Miami, Messi’s 14th-minute corner fell unexpectedly to Charlotte’s Luca de la Torre, who spooned it up for Fray to open the scoring.

Another Messi corner in the 33rd minute found Suarez wide open at the near post. The Uruguayan glanced in his header for 2-0.

De Paul made it three before half-time, but Abada pulled back a goal for the visitors early and bagged a second in the 55th minute.

In the 90th minute, Aloko bagged the equaliser, reacting first to the ball as Smalls’s shot ricocheted off the post.

A visibly frustrated Messi hit the post in stoppage time before Aloko came inches from bagging an unlikely winner with a thunderous shot into the outside netting.

Messi’s 26 goals this season were enough to make him the first to successfully defend the top goal-scoring honour. Petar Musa of Dallas was second with 22 goals but did not score in his club’s 3-1 home victory over Colorado.

The 39-year-old finished with 29 goals the previous season, becoming the second player in league ⁠⁠⁠⁠history to score at ⁠⁠⁠⁠least 25 times in back-to-back years.

Messi recently retired from international football after an illustrious 21-year career with the 2022 world champions, but recently signed a contract extension ⁠⁠with the MLS club through 2028.

Inter Miami are the holders of the MLS Cup, which they won in Messi’s second season with the club in 2025.

Playoffs for this season’s MLS Cup begin ‌‌on November 19.

Messi’s men will face Columbus to begin the MLS playoffs. Other East matchups send New England against Philadelphia, Charlotte against Chicago and top seed Nashville against the wild-card winner, Orlando or Cincinnati.

Columbus took advantage of the Cincinnati loss with a 4-3 victory at Chicago to finish seventh and avoid the wild-card round.

WXV Global Series

Canada (12) 31

Tries: Omokhuale, De Goede 3, Bauder Cons: De Goede 3

England (7) 22

Tries: Feaunati, Cokayne, Sing Cons: Harrison, Sing Pens: Harrison

England suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time in a decade as Canada won 31-22 in the WXV Series in Ottawa.

The hosts ran in five tries to England’s three, including a hat-trick for captain Sophie de Goede, as they backed up last weekend’s 24-21 win in Toronto, which ended the Red Roses’ 41-match unbeaten streak, with another statement victory.

It completes a 2-0 series win for Canada after the two sides also shared a 26-26 draw in Exeter in September.

After losing multiple matches in a calendar year for the first time since 2016, world champions England head into their meeting with the USA in New Jersey next Friday (21:15 GMT) hoping to avoid three consecutive losses for the first time since 2013.

England made a promising start, Maddie Feaunati crashing over from close range inside 10 minutes, but Canada led 12-7 at the break.

Gabrielle Senft pounced on a bouncing ball and broke down the left wing with De Goede on her shoulder to score, only four minutes after Julia Omokhuale had brought the Maple Leafs level.

Zoe Harrison kicked a penalty early in the second half before England turned to their driving maul to overturn the deficit, Amy Cokayne walking in their second score.

However, De Goede restored her side’s lead three minutes later and completed her hat-trick just after the hour-mark, before Savannah Bauder danced down the left wing to put Canada out of sight.

Emma Sing added a consolation try for England in the 80th minute.