Casemiro becomes 'villain' on Messi's return to Inter Miami

Luis Suárez had a gala first half, which translated into a goal and an assist — for Noah Allen's goal — in the 16th and 45+5 minutes, respectively. However, in the middle, Casemiro, a former FC Porto player, "spoiled the party" by scoring against his own goal, defended by Rocco Ríos, in an attempt to intercept a cross from Taha Habroune.

The second half began with the long-awaited return of Lionel Messi, who had played, exactly two weeks earlier, in the World Cup final, in which his Argentina were defeated by Spain 1-0, in extra time. The home team's coach, Guillermo Hoyos, replaced Messi in Dániel Pintér's place.

However, the truth is that the "star of the team" was unable to make a difference. Much happier was Brais Méndez, who came on for Dániel Gazdag in the 17th minute of the second half and ended up scoring the goal that gave the final blow to the scoreboard, close to the final whistle.

It is worth noting that the match for the 18th round of MLS featured Portuguese participation, as André Gomes was selected as a starter by French coach Laurent Courtois and played the 90 minutes, including being one of the main highlights of the Ohio State team.

Inter Miami and Columbus Crew now turn all their attention to the start of the group stage of the Leagues Cup, a competition that annually brings together clubs from the United States and Mexico. Inter Miami will face Atlético San Luis, Monterrey and Club León, while the Columbus Crew will face Atlas, Pachuca and Pumas.

MLS results (and standings)

Also last night, victories were recorded for Portland Timbers (over Seattle Sounders, 2-1), Colorado Rapids (over Austin FC, 1-0), Houston Dynamo (over Sporting Kansas City, 2-0), Chicago Fire (over Charlotte FC, 2-1), Philadelphia Union (over Atlanta United, 3-2), New York Red Bulls (over Orlando City, 3-2) and FC Cincinnati (over San Jose Earthquakes, 4 to 2).

In the other matches, there were draws between Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas (0-0), between St. Louis City and Real Salt Lake, and between Vancouver Whitecaps and Los Angeles FC (both 1-1), as well as draws between CF Montréal and New England Revolution and between DC United and Nashville SC (both 2-2, as well as Inter Miami and Columbus Crew).

With these results, the leadership of the MLS Eastern Conference continues with Nashville SC, which has 40 points, two more than second place, Inter Miami, and 20 more than tenth place, Columbus Crew, which is tied on points with Orlando City.

In the Western Conference, the lead is shared between the Vancouver Whitecaps, who have two games in hand, and Los Angeles FC, both with 34 points.