The Argentine star lifts his record-breaking 46th trophy and gives Inter Miami a chance to secure home-field advantage in the upcoming MLS playoffs.

Lionel Messi scored two goals as Inter Miami defeated defending Major League Soccer (MLS) champions Columbus Crew 3-2 to win the Supporters’ Shield, awarded annually to the team with the best regular season record becomes.

Wednesday’s victory gave Messi his 46th career trophy and Inter Miami a chance to secure home-field advantage in the upcoming MLS playoffs.

It was Messi’s 46th major trophy for a club or country, making it the highest record of any men’s football player in history. And it is the second victory he has won with Inter Miami, following the League Cup that the Herons won shortly after Messi’s entry into the club in 2023 won.

“We knew this was a group that could fight for this (cup),” Messi said after the game.

Luis Suarez also scored for Inter Miami, which will open a best-of-three first-round playoff series on the last weekend of October.

If they win this series, they will earn the right to play every game at home for the remainder of the season, including an Eastern Conference semifinal (scheduled for November 23 or 24), the East final (November 30 or December 1st) and the MLS Cup final on December 7th.

“We have a beautiful opportunity to go down in history… and now we think about what’s to come,” Messi added.

“We have the great advantage of playing all the games at home and that was exactly what we wanted. I think we are very, very strong at home.”

Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino was pleased with his club’s “dominant” performance.

“We want December 7th,” said Martino, referring to the MLS Cup final, “but today is not insignificant.”

CHAMPIONS OF THE SUPPORTERS’ SHIELD! 🏆🛡️ pic.twitter.com/Dcfk2RYFSO

– Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 3, 2024

Messi missed Inter Miami’s 15 MLS games in 2024, either due to commitments with the Argentina national team or because of the two-month absence he needed to recover from a serious ankle injury – and that came during his country’s race for the Copa America title in July.

“During the year we had many, many injuries where we couldn’t all be together… but the group made the most of every tough game,” said the Argentine legend.

The MLS champion will be determined by the winner of the MLS Cup playoffs – where Eastern Conference rivals The Crew and Miami could meet again.

The best MLS regular season record is still within Inter Miami’s reach after the win took them to 68 points. If the club wins its final two games – against Toronto and New England – it would finish with 74 points, a new single-season points record.