Lionel Messi completed yet another mesmerizing performance for Inter Miami in their Concacaf Champions Cup tie against Nashville.
The Argentine lead the Herons to the quarterfinal stage of the tournament after scoring and assisting in their 3-1 win at the Chase Stadium (formerly DRV PNK Stadium) this Thursday.
Nos vemos en los cuartos de final ‼️ pic.twitter.com/fqJamD2Iaj
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) March 14, 2024
That’s five goals and five assists for Leo in 2024 and three goals contributions in Miami’s 5-3 aggregate win over Nashville. Nothing special for the Ballon d’Or winner.
However, what did make part of his performance special in this tie was silencing opposing fans when they tried to knock the No. 10 off his game with a silly chant. A chant that lead to a signature Messi goal.
Video: Messi scores against Nashville SC during “Ronaldo! Ronaldo!” Chants
That’s cold.
In the first leg of the Champions Cup clash between Miami and Nashville last Thursday, ecstatic Nashville fans around the stadium were in disbelief after their club's surprising momentary 2-0 advantage against the team lead by Messi and Luis Suárez.
Miami, with an inaccurate first half, was failing to hit the back of the net despite their fair share of chances. Messi’s performance was not the best either.
For that and in notice of Miami’s struggles, Nashville fans began to try and get into the Argentine’s head by chanting and reminding him of his 15-year long rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. “Ronaldo! Ronaldo!” were some of the chants echoing through the electric Geodis Park.
To no one’s surprise, the chant failed to phase the World Cup winner, following the ‘warm’ welcome from the Nashville fans with an outrageous goal that would ignite the comeback. Check out the amazing clip:
جماهير ناشفيل تردد "رونالدو، رونالدو" أمام الأسطورة ميسي لكنه سجل هدف في 15 ثانية pic.twitter.com/t3PEgTL7rY
— Messi World (@M10GOAT) March 14, 2024
Messi magic to respond to the haters.
This is the first time in a long time that we see Ronaldo chants during a Messi game, with chants of the Argentine during Cristiano Ronaldo’s current stint in Saudi Arabia becoming more common.
Ronaldo’s reactions to the chants? A bit more personal.
@the18soccer Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended two games and is under investigation for this obscene gesture. #cristianoronaldo #ronaldo #lionelmessi #messi #alnassr #soccer #football #futbol ♬ original sound - The18